Moldova Energizes New Power Line as President Sandu Declares Zero Russian Gas Purchases
On November 8, Moldova energized the Vulcănești–Chișinău 400 kV transmission line. President Maia Sandu announced on X that Moldova now buys zero Russian gas, saying that "for decades Moscow used energy to blackmail us." EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos attended the switch-on and said Moldova's dependence on Russian energy has genuinely ended.
The line, about 157 kilometres long, connects Moldova's grid directly to Romania and the European network, bypassing the Cuciurgan power plant in the Transnistria region. That plant, fuelled by Russian gas, previously supplied up to about 80 percent of the electricity used in government-controlled Moldova, with prices and supply long tied to Moscow's political conditions. Moldova plans two more lines to Romania, Bălți–Suceava and Strășeni–Gutinaș.
Government-controlled Moldova stopped buying Russian gas directly in December 2022, and on January 1, 2025, Gazprom halted deliveries to Transnistria altogether, triggering a heating and power crisis there. With the new line live, Chișinău's electricity no longer has to pass through the left-bank plant, cutting Moldova's dependence on Russia in both power and gas.
(Source: Presidency of Moldova)
Source: Presidency of Moldova
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：摩尔多瓦首都基希讷乌市政厅钟楼，塔顶悬挂摩尔多瓦国旗。照片：Andrew J. Kurbiko 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The clock tower of Chișinău City Hall in Moldova's capital, flying the Moldovan flag. Photo by Andrew J. Kurbiko, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
