Moldova would receive an EU grant to interconnect its electricity grid with Romania by signing an agreement worth 15.4 million euros, Euractiv reported.
Prime Minister Dorin Recean signed the deal on Thursday with the head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) office in Chișinău, Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, and the interim general director of Moldelectrica, Sergiu Aparatu.
The EBRD will finance the 400 kV overhead power line project between the Moldovan city of Bălți and the Romanian city of Suceava by 20 per cent. Recean stated that EU support would help Moldova reinforce its energy security.
Today, we have light and heat thanks to our partners and the fact that, for the past four years, the government has taken active, strategic steps that have freed us from blackmail and dependency.
The total cost of the Moldova-Romania electricity interconnection project stands at €77 million. Earlier, the EBRD and the European Investment Bank contributed €30.8 million each to complete the project by the end of 2027.
Moldova has so far managed to avoid blackouts due to significant electricity imports from neighbouring Romania. However, Romanian aid could be cut off any moment, warned Marcela Lefter, CEO of Sedera, a Romanian renewable energy company operating in Moldova.
The interconnector bringing power from Romania goes straight to a hub in Transnistria.
Since 1 January 2025, Moldova, including Transnistria, has been struggling to cope with the interruption of gas supplies from Russia’s Gazprom caused by unpaid debts.
