---
title: "Energy chief urges regional ties to secure power market "
url: https://radiomoldova.md/p/87902/energy-chief-urges-regional-ties-to-secure-power-market
published: 2026-10-22T08:47:00Z
language: en
author: "Elena Munteanu"
section: "Economic"
source: radiomoldova.md
---

# Energy chief urges regional ties to secure power market 

> Regional energy integration with Romania and Ukraine is a critical security imperative rather than merely a policy choice, Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu said Thursday during a high-level sector conference in Chișinău.

![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/28d718c4-1488-4348-9c55-4e2c139e39e7.jpg)

Regional energy integration with Romania and Ukraine is a critical security imperative rather than merely a policy choice, Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu said Thursday during a high-level sector conference in Chișinău.

Speaking at the Energy Transition Agenda conference, Junghietu emphasized that recent geopolitical shocks demonstrated that domestic energy security cannot be achieved in isolation. He noted that expanding local generating capacity must occur alongside transparent wholesale market mechanisms.

Moldova's power sector has undergone rapid restructuring amid regional volatility caused by Russia's war against Ukraine. Installed renewable generation has now surpassed 1,000 megawatts, supplying 46% of domestic electricity consumption during the second quarter.

**Wholesale power market expansion**

“Production growth must go hand in hand with market development,” Junghietu said. “We are witnessing rising liquidity on the day-ahead and intraday markets, which provides suppliers with greater flexibility and supports competitive price formation. Launching the bilateral contracts market is our next step.”

Under Moldova's Energy Strategy through 2050, recently approved by the government, the country aims to slash import dependency from over 77% to 40%. The blueprint also mandates that renewables account for at least 85% of domestic power output.

Renewable sources covered 24.5% of gross final electricity consumption in 2025, with total green capacity exceeding 980 megawatts by year-end, up sharply from approximately 77 megawatts in 2020.

![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/215db337-b5a4-4ae7-8803-ea3e965d5ccc.jpg)

**Smart grid rollout and market coupling**

To balance variable supply, authorities are accelerating demand-side participation through smart metering and time-of-use tariffs. A donor-backed pilot program supported by UNDP Moldova and the Italian government has already deployed meters to thousands of consumers across Chișinău, Bălți, and 21 regional districts.

An ongoing procurement tender will add 65,000 smart units, bringing the total rollout to 100,000 meters covering roughly 7% of the nation's 1.4 million electricity consumers. Officials are evaluating a wider rollout of roughly 400,000 smart meters between 2028 and 2030 to minimize tariff pressure.

Market participation reached 432 active traders in the second quarter. Under Chișinău's integration roadmap, all large industrial consumers must enter the competitive wholesale market by July 1, 2027, ahead of planned full market coupling with the European Union by 2028.

Translation by **Iurie Tataru**

![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/202f2a6a-5b8e-448c-993a-ef21c81d4ec7.jpg)

**RELATED COVERAGE**

* [Three new energy interconnections will link the Republic of Moldova with Romania and Ukraine](https://moldova1.md/p/61616/three-new-energy-interconnections-will-link-the-republic-of-moldova-with-romania-and-ukraine)
* [Moldova's energy revolution: Total decoupling from Russian gas and Transnistrian electricity](https://moldova1.md/p/64959/moldova-s-energy-revolution-total-decoupling-from-russian-gas-and-transnistrian-electricity)