KIEV (Reuters) – Moldovia's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestria, which remains without Russian gas supplies and no longer passes through neighboring Ukraine, faced longer periods of rolling power outages on Saturday, local authorities said.
Russian gas flows through Ukraine to Central and Eastern Europe stopped on the first day of the New Year after the expiration of the transit agreement between the two warring countries and Kiev’s refusal to extend it.
Transdniestria, a majority Russian-speaking region that has lived side by side with Moldova since its separation from it in the final days of Soviet rule, receives gas from Russian giant Gazprom via a pipeline that crosses Ukraine.
The gas was used to power a thermal plant that provided electricity locally and to most of Moldova under the control of the pro-European central government.
Vadim Krasnoselsky, who declared himself president of the region, said on the messaging app Telegram that the power outage in various regions would extend to four hours on Sunday.
Hour-long outages were imposed for the first time on Friday evening after heating and hot water supplies were cut. The cuts were then extended to three hours on Saturday.
“Yesterday’s implementation of the ongoing cuts was a test,” Krasnoselsky wrote. “He stressed that an hour-long stop to keep the electrical supply system running was not enough.” “The power generated does not cover the sharply increasing demand.”
All industries were closed except those producing food. The official Telegram news channel affiliated with the separatist authorities in the region announced the official closure, on Saturday, of a steel factory and a bakery in the town of Rybnitsa.
Regional officials announced new measures to help residents, especially the elderly, and warned that nighttime temperatures would drop to -10 C (+14 F). She asked residents not to put pressure on the mobile phone network in the area.
Use firewood
The news channel warned of heaters being in poor condition after two residents died due to carbon monoxide poisoning from the stove. Pictures posted online showed soldiers loading trucks with firewood for distribution.
“Don't postpone collecting firewood,” Krasnoselsky told residents. “It's best to check your supplies in advance, especially since the weather has been favorable so far.”
The Moldova government blames Russia for the crisis and called on Gazprom to ship gas through the TurkStream pipeline and then via Bulgaria and Romania.
Russia denies using gas as a weapon to coerce Moldova, and blames Kiev for refusing to renew the gas transportation agreement.
Power outages in Transdniestria are a problem for Moldova, especially since this enclave is home to a power plant that provides most of the power to government-controlled areas of Moldova at a fixed, low price.
Prime Minister Dorin Resian said on Friday that his country was facing a security crisis after Transdniestria imposed repeated power outages, but he also said that the Chisinau government had prepared alternative arrangements that include a mix of domestic production and electricity imports from Romania.
Even before halting supplies through Ukraine, Gazprom said it would suspend exports to Moldova on January 1 due to what Russia says is Moldova's unpaid debt amounting to $709 million. Moldova rejects this and estimates the figure at $8.6 million.
