Moldovagaz, in which the state owns 30% of the shares, continues to accumulate debts to the Russian concern Gazprom, political pundit Denis Cenusa wrote in an analysis article for IPN Agency.
According to the expert, the Transnistrian region’s unpaid gas consumption accounts for over 90% of the debt of about US$ 7 billion. Thus, the Transnistrian administration manages to subsidize the deficient budget of the region and to create favorable conditions for the economic operators of the region.
Consequently, Moldavskaya GRES produces electricity from Russian gas for which it does not pay, being thus privileged compared to other suppliers from the region that can supply power to the right bank of the Nistru.
At the same time, by not paying for Russian gas the region can reduce production costs and increase the competitiveness of Transnistrian goods, including of those that are exported to the EU based on the DCFTA.
The non-solving of the problem of gas debts affects predictability in relation to the whole energy sector. The most pessimistic scenarios include the possibility for Russia to use the debt to take over a part of the energy infrastructure or to achieve political objectives, such as Moldova’s federalization.
Denis Cenusa noted that instead of eliminating the sources that create debts, the Moldovan authorities contribute to keeping them. It happens by enabling Energocom S.A to renew the contracts for the purchase of electricity from Moldavskaya GRES.
A radical change in the situation will be seen if the building of interconnections with Romania is completed. The given initiatives should be regarded by the European partners as an investment in energy security.
Besides interconnection, the EU and other European players should encourage debates on the solving of the problem of debt for Russian gas whose economic and (geo)political costs can have unfavorable consequences that are now considerably underestimated, concluded the expert.
