Public service obligation for Energocom extended by late 2026 to ensure electricity supply security

The public service obligation for Energocom company has been extended until January 31, 2025. The decision was approved today by the Government to ensure the security of electricity supply to consumers in the Republic of Moldova.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Carolina Novac stated at the cabinet meeting that the decision is necessary to ensure continuity of electricity supply amid regional energy uncertainties.

According to the official, maintaining the public service obligation creates a stable and predictable framework for universal service suppliers, system operators, and consumers, protecting both the population and the business environment from the risk of interruptions or sudden tariff increases.


“This project proposes maintaining until December 31, 2026, the legal mechanism that allows Energocom to purchase the necessary quantities of electricity to meet the consumption needs of the Republic of Moldova. Considering the war in Ukraine, attacks on Ukraine's electricity infrastructure, and current market conditions in Moldova, Energocom has the operational capacity and necessary experience to promptly intervene in regional markets and ensure the required electricity volumes. The experience of previous years has demonstrated the efficiency of this mechanism in the current situation. This measure is in the general economic interest and is in line with the principles and mechanisms provided by European legislation, which allow temporary state interventions to ensure energy security. This project is absolutely necessary to ensure continuity of electricity supply, market stability, and energy security of the Republic of Moldova,” explained Carolina Novac.


The measure will contribute to maintaining tariff stability, protecting public institutions and final consumers, and avoiding significant short- and medium-term budgetary pressures.

According to the project's information note, the extension of the public service obligation until December 31, 2026, is justified by the volatility of interconnection capacities and regional limitations, the inability to competitively contract the energy needs for 2026, the necessity of ensuring supply security, and the necessity of providing a stable framework for long-term electricity contracting.


“The real risk of situations where competitive acquisition contracts cannot be concluded, combined with the increasing vulnerability of interconnections, justifies the need to maintain a state intervention mechanism by extending the public service obligation until December 31, 2026, to guarantee the continuity of the country's electricity supply,” the source stated.


As of January 1, 2025, the right bank of the Dniester no longer receives electricity from the Cuciurgan Power Plant after the Russian concern Gazprom ceased natural gas deliveries to the Republic of Moldova. Under these conditions, consumption is covered from internal sources and imports.