In an opinion published recently, the Secretariat of the Energy Community has endorsed, provided that certain conditions are met, the certification of Vestmoldtransgaz as an independent gas transmission system operator.

The opinion was requested by the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE), in the context of the unbundling procedure, after provisional certification was granted in February 2024. The Secretariat issued its opinion after assessing compliance with the relevant EU Directives. Based on this opinion, the ANRE is expected to grant or reject certification within two months since publishing.

The Secretariat pointed out, among other things, that the maintenance of the transmission system managed by Vestmoldtransgaz is carried out by the owner MTG, which is also a subsidiary of Moldovagaz, another owner of the system. This means Vestmoldtransgaz does not have the prerogative to effectively control the conducted maintenance, including the option of rejecting non-compliant service. This does not correspond to the ISO unbundling model.

The Secretariat of the Energy Community requests ANRE to modify the lease contract for the introduction of Vestmoldtransgaz’s right to effectively control the work.

Regarding the transmission system on the left bank of the Nistru River, which is technically operated by MTG and maintained by Tiraspoltransgaz, based on an agreement between Vestmoldtransgaz and MTG, the Secretariat is aware that the national authorities, including ANRE, do not control effectively the natural gas market in the Transnistrian region, and respectively the designation of Vestmoldtransgaz as a transmission operator does not affect gas flows and the natural gas market in any way.

“To meet the certification conditions, Moldovagaz must transfer its transmission system to another company, for example to MTG, which in turn must ensure the functional separation by adopting changes in the corporate governance structure - the independent Board of Directors, and changes need to be made in the statutes of Moldovagaz and MTG, which must exclude the influence of Moldovagaz in the decision-making of MTG”, said the Ministry of Energy.