Moldova imports about 75% of the energy it needs, being dependent on these imports. “Considering this, the most important energy resource for us is energy efficiency,” said Alexandru Ciudin, director of the Agency for Energy Efficiency (EEA), during a EU Debates Cafe video conference. Organized by the Institute for European Policy and Reform (IPRE), the event addressed key solutions for strengthening energy independence and security.
Ciudin noted that Moldova was the first country in the Eastern Partnership to transpose the EU Energy Efficiency Directive into national law. The reduction of energy consumption, as an effect of implementing energy efficiency measures, as well as through the introduction of renewable sources, helps reduce energy imports and improve Moldova’s energy independence.
“In 2020, Moldovans spent a huge amount on energy bills. Over 6 billion lei was spent on electricity, and over 3 billion lei on natural gas, with an overall consumption estimated at a million Gcal of thermal energy. This is a burden for our energy security, for Moldova’s energy system. Especially considering that nearly 40% of the gas imported from Russia is used to produce electricity. Our total gross domestic consumption of energy resources in 2019 was quite high - about 3,000 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent, while the consumption of electricity by final consumers was over 3,000 MW/h,” said Alexandru Ciudin.
One the biggest problems is the extremely poor energy efficiency in buildings. “In the last 10 years, the government has focused on energy efficiency projects for public buildings. During 9 years, first through the Energy Efficiency Fund, then through the Energy Efficiency Agency, 275 projects were implemented that envisaged energy efficiency measures and renewable energy measures, with a total budget of over 600 million lei. A large part of this was allocated by our development partners”, said Alexandru Ciudin.
The director of the Energy Efficiency Agency said that the domestic energy generation capacities are quite modest. “We have capacities of over 300 megawatts, of which 250 megawatts are generated by CET 1 and CET 2 in Chisinau, about 24 megawatts by CET Nord in Balti, 16 megawatts come from Costești Hydropower Plant and 72 megawatts from renewable energy. All thermal power plants operating in our territory burn gas as an energy resource. In 2012, Moldova vowed to reach a rate of 17% of renewable sources. This share was reached and exceeded, but largely due to biomass rather than other technology”.
Energy expert Victor Parlicov said that the efforts made by the EU through climate and energy policies have determined changes in Moldova, too. ȚNo matter how much we make commitments at the government level, related to reducing emissions, energy efficiency, renewable energy, most of the responsibilities, infrastructure and everything that in fact ultimately influences consumption, is in the management of local public authorities. Without working together with them, the objectives of the central authorities will remain largely unfulfilled”, said Victor Parlicov.
“We’ve been able to build partnerships where EU funds are pooled together with money from local public authorities, national funds, such as the Energy Efficiency Agency, with contributions from the population, the role of the diaspora here is very important. No local budget today can afford to make investments of this size from its own sources”, the expert mentioned. “We are doing well in terms of legislation, but in terms of allocated resources we are worse off and this is holding back progress. The budget of the Energy Efficiency Agency for 2021 was approved in the amount of 30 million lei. This is approximately the cost of thermal rehabilitation works of a high school in Basarabeasca”, exemplified Victor Parlicov.
The event was organized within the project “EU debates café: Advancing knowledge and expertise on EU institutions and policies in the Republic of Moldova”, implemented by IPRE in cooperation with the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Moldova and with the financial support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
