​MOLDOVA SHOULD SPEED UP CONNECTION TO ROMANIAN ENERGY SYSTEM – EXPERT

Moldova should accelerate its connection to the Romanian electric energy system, said expert in the field of European Integration Policy, former foreign minister Iulian Groza.

At the Monday’s presentation of the research he conducted into the results of implementing the EU-Moldova Association Agreement in the field of energy, the expert said that the connection should be conducted until 2018, in order to have the opportunity to use the European energy market.

“Acceleration of building electric lines till 2019 for the asynchronous integration with the ENTSO-E through Romania should be a short-term priority for government of both countries, as it was provided in the Memorandum of Understanding. In the document, signed in May 2015, the cost of these projects is estimated at 720 million euros”, he said.

The support from EU and European financial institutions, as well as enhancing of efforts on connecting Moldova to the Central and South-Eastern Europe’s energy system has crucial importance in this regard. The connection to the Romanian energy system will allow deriving benefit from a more competitive energy market of the EU, the specialist said.

According to him, Moldova undertook to strengthen the energy safety, to develop infrastructure, to raise the market integration, to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy sources and to harmonize the legislation with the EU norms.

“Energy efficiency looks like most advanced in terms of harmonizing the legislation with the EU. The pace of introducing European Union regulations in the electricity sector should be accelerated. Moldova undertook to implement 43 EU directives and provisions. However, the introduction of some of them is in delay, given the fact that the deadlines expire mostly at the beginning of 2017”, Groza said.

According to the research, Moldova owns insignificant reserves of solid fuel, petroleum and gas and depends on energy carriers by 96%. At the same time, 70-75% of equipment, used in the energy sector is outdated and the losses in distribution and transporting networks are quite big.