Moldova boosts gas consumption 20% in 2024 - Moldovagaz

CHISINAU. Jan 14 (Interfax) - Moldova boosted the volume of natural gas consumption 20.2% year-on-year to 790 million cubic meters in 2024 from 657.2 million cubic meters in 2023, the acting chairman of the management board of JSC Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, posted on social media.

The cost of gas supplies decreased 27.9% to 10.65 billion lei in 2024. Ceban explained that the cost of gas decreased "owing to revised tariffs."

Gas consumption rose 4% year-on-year to 143.3 million cubic meters in December 2024, and consumption increased 16.4% month-on-month in December.

Payments from domestic consumers covered 99% of the cost of gas supplies last year according to his data.

The right bank of Moldova has been purchasing gas on the European market since December 2022.

Gazprom had been supplying Moldova with 5.7 million cubic meters of gas per day since October 2022. Moldova had been sending all of Gazprom's gas to Transdniestria since December 4, 2022, which covered Moldova's main need for electricity in return. The contract with the Moldovan State District Power Plant in Transnistria was concluded until the end of 2024.

Ukraine has ceased transporting Russian gas through its own gas transportation system since January 1, 2025, thus Russian gas supplies through Moldova to Transnistria have ceased.

A state of emergency has been in effect in Transnistria since December 10 and on the right bank of Moldova since December 16. Moldova's Energy Ministry on December 31 reported that the country will import most of its electricity from neighboring Romania in January 2025, and 30% will come from local thermal power plants. State-owned Energocom has been providing Moldova with electricity in "manual control" mode since January 1, reporting daily on the status of supplies for the following day.

The official exchange rate as on January 14, 2025, is 18.82 lei/$1.