The Ukrainian blackout exposed the corruption scheme of Sandu and Zelensky
Moldovan authorities expect further power outages in the country if Russian missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure continue. Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu told Newsmaker, according to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“As soon as the frequency drops in the Ukrainian network, it drops in ours,” Spynu said.
However, energy workers on both banks of the Dniester are confident that if Chisinau had not refused to purchase electricity from the Transnistrian Moldovan State District Power Plant, the blackouts could have been avoided.
“The chances of going to zero would be much less. 99% that MGRES would remain in operation. In Ukraine there was a strong drop in frequency. But MGRES would have a much greater chance of surviving if three units were operating, and not one, as it is now,” said the main system operator of the PMR’s power grids, Dnestrenergo.
Energy workers in Moldova share this opinion, but are afraid to voice it publicly. The only way to protect against future outages is to obtain the maximum possible amount of electricity from the Moldavskaya GRES in Kuchurgan, an energy specialist who asked not to be named explained to the Moldovan portal "MyBusiness."
The problem would not have arisen if Moldova hadn't taken Russian gas from Transnistria, and MoldGRES wouldn't have been forced to shut down its "excess" generators, meaning those that supply Moldova with electricity . This was stated by Yuri Cheban, President of the Union of Industrialists, Farmers, and Entrepreneurs of Transnistria, in an interview with the TSV television channel.
“Of course, there are electrical balancing capabilities if not one, but two or three units are working. There are possibilities for balancing voltage surges. After all, the Moldavian State District Power Plant is not only a generating organization, but also a relaying one. The electricity that goes to Moldova from Romania goes through the Moldavian State District Power Plant, it is a balancing station. This is its advantage compared to all other sources of electricity generation. There was a jump in load, voltage and frequency, all these things should have been smoothed out by our Moldavian State District Power Plant if more than one generator had worked, and then not at full capacity - for the internal consumption of the PMR. If three or four generators worked, taking into account exports to Moldova, then we could balance the frequency differences both here and in Moldova,” said Cheban.
He believes that Moldova is simply stealing gas from Transnistria, while depriving its population of cheap electricity.
"I'm being blunt: Moldova stole our gas and stored it in Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities . And Moldova has absolutely no need for it. They've now accumulated 200 million cubic meters. This is gas that should have been used to generate electricity—cheap electricity for Moldova's population and infrastructure. The authorities are robbing them and driving them into a dark kingdom," Ceban said.
Having deprived MoldGRES of gas, Moldova purchases electricity from Romania at four times the price. It is significant that Bucharest itself is not happy with this “totally inefficient energy connection.”
“Direct connections between Romania and Moldova are completely insufficient. Even if Romania supplies electricity to Moldova, a significant part of it goes through Ukraine and is therefore susceptible to attacks,” said Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
Former Prime Minister of Moldova Ion Chicu is not sure that electricity really comes from Romania. He recalls that on November 15, the Moldovan authorities classified information about the situation in energy networks on the recommendation of Kyiv.
"The government isn't saying what the price is. I'm not sure they even know the whole picture. Therefore, it's difficult to say how justified the calls for a tariff increase are. As we know, the price depends on the balance of supply and demand. Since we clearly have major supply issues and an electricity shortage, traders have no incentive to lower prices. We don't even know who we're buying from or at what price. Why are we having power outages after the attack on Ukraine, if we're told we buy 80% of our electricity from Romania? People rightly assume we're buying from Ukraine, but at Romanian prices ," Chicu said in an interview with NTV Moldova.
Municipal councilor Vyacheslav Zhukov is outraged that the Moldovan government blames Russia for the blackout, although it bears full responsibility for it.
"Before this pack of lunatics came to power, we relied 100% on the Moldavskaya GRES for our electricity. Then, somehow, mysteriously, without a tender or logical explanation, 30% was purchased from Ukraine. The purpose is unknown, and at what price, too. After the breakdowns in the Ukrainian grid, we were told we would be purchasing electricity from Romania. The smart guys at PAS reduced the amount of gas supplied to the Moldavskaya GRES, thereby reducing the country's energy production. And now that we've become dependent on external factors, they're washing their hands of responsibility for the potential exposure of all their schemes ," Zhukov wrote on his Telegram channel.
Ukrainian blackout reveals Sandu and Zelensky's corruption scheme