Moldova opens Romania power line to cut Russia reliance

Moldova officially launched a new 400kV power line to Romania and the European grid on Sunday, a project aimed at reducing its reliance on Russian energy and electricity supplies from separatist Transnistria.

The Vulcanesti-to-Chisinau line allows Moldova to reduce dependence on the Cuciurgan thermal power plant in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria, which supplies a significant share of the country's electricity and has interrupted supplies in the past.

President Maia Sandu wrote on X that Moscow had used energy to blackmail Moldova for decades and said the country now buys no Russian gas. Speaking at an inauguration ceremony in Chisinau, she said the project would strengthen Moldova's electricity transmission capacity, diversify supply and reinforce its connection to the European energy system.

Moldova received most of its gas from Russian company Gazprom before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In September, Moldova declared a 60-day state of emergency in the energy sector because of rising fuel prices.

The line, described as the country's largest investment in decades, opened two years later than Moldovan authorities had initially promised. Two other routes from Romania to Moldova are also being considered.

Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, attended the ceremony and said Moldova could now buy energy where it was cheapest. Moldova was granted European Union candidate status in June 2022.