Energy Security, neglected by authorities

Moldova's energy security and economic interests are often neglected by the authorities' policies and actions. Under these circumstances, Moldova's energy vulnerability is smartly exploited by the Russian Federation, finds a research carried out by IDIS Viitorul think tank, launched on June 25, Info-Prim Neo reports. It finds the authorities have no long-term view on insuring the country's security and undertake not too many to find viable alternatives to the Russian gas, and, in general, to the natural gas. Joining the Energy Community Treaty, getting access to the gas from Central Asia, to the atomic plant from Cernavoda, using renewable energy are but several options deserving to be taken into account, reads a communique by IDIS. “The Moldovan energy assets were estranged in an illegal and non-transparent manner, as it was done through a preliminary and approximate estimation. There are no documents certifying the assets of local gas distributors. We're worried about the cost of the assets yielded in the past, which exceeds the volume of the debts, what makes us believe the debts were inflated artificially,” says Alexandru Baltag, an author of the study. They find that the authorities' decision to import power from the Cuciurgan plant, under Russian control, is political. “Moldova rejected Ukraine's offer to buy power 10 % cheaper. We would be very interested in learning the reasons of this decision, apparently unreasonable. We suppose there would be political and financial interests behind this decision, or the authorities expect the price of the gas/power to drop after the economic crisis ends,” said Dorina Baltag, a co-author of the study. According to her, joining the Energy Community Treaty would imply a series of advantages: investments, access to the European energy market, boosting the cooperation with the states from South-Eastern Europe. The options to avoid the Russian supplier are limited. “One of them would be engaging in the Nabucco project, the other – the free access to the gas from Central Asia. The first variant has not been sufficiently studied by the authorities, which made but statements. The second variant entails talks with Russia, to allow the shipment. Although the authorities admit this possibility, they do nothing in this respect,” Dorina Baltag specifies. The study “Moldova's Energy Security: Viable Alternatives” contains recommendations to insure the energy security.