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MoldovaEnergy and Fuels
Among the most pressing difficulties facing the
republic's
economy is a near total lack of energy resources.
Moldova's own
primary energy sources consist of small hydroelectric
power
plants on the Nistru River at Dubasari and Camenca
(Kamenka, in
Russian); minor thermal electric power plants at Balti,
Rîbnita
(Rybnitsa, in Russian), Ungheni (Ungeny, in Russian), and
Chisinau; and firewood, all of which combine to meet only
1
percent of domestic needs. A coal-fired power plant was
under
construction at Cuciurgan (Kuchurgan, in Russian), in
Transnistria, in 1995.
Another source of problems is the fact that almost 90
percent
of power and 100 percent of power transformers are
produced in
politically troubled Transnistria. In addition,
Transnistria's
adversarial "government" has frequently disrupted the flow
of
fuels into Moldova from Russia and Ukraine.
Moldova has an electric power production capacity of
3.1
million kilowatts, and it produced 11.1 billion
kilowatt-hours of
electricity in 1993. By 1994 electricity production had
decreased
14 percent in comparison with 1993. Over the same period,
thermal
electric production decreased 22 percent.
Despite its lack of energy resources, the country
continues
to export some of the electricity it generates to Romania
and
Bulgaria. However, these exports have been cut back (the
countries receive electricity only to the extent to which
they
supply fuel). Some electricity shortages have occurred in
Moldova, mostly in winter, and have been dealt with by
rationing.
Much of the country's generating equipment (which is not
produced
by Moldova) and approximately one-quarter of its
transmission and
distribution lines are in need of repair.
In the early 1990s, energy shortages were prevalent,
and
energy availability was sporadic, leading to disruptions
in
economic activity; imports of coal, natural gas, diesel
fuel, and
gasoline declined by an estimated average of 40 percent
from 1991
to 1992. In 1994 the picture was somewhat different.
Gasoline
imports were up 33.6 percent and coal imports increased
15.4
percent, while imports of diesel fuel, mazut, and natural
gas
fell 25 percent, 51.5 percent, and 3.1 percent,
respectively.
In 1994 Moldavia was dependent on Russia for 90 percent
of
the fuel needed for its electric-power generation plants:
diesel
oil (88,000 tons), gasoline (65,000 tons), fuel oil
(365,000
tons), and natural gas (2.8 billion cubic meters). By
March 1995,
Moldova owed Russia US$232 million for fuel, with half of
this
amount owed by the "Dnestr Republic."
Moldova had started paying off this debt in goods,
including
agricultural products, but beginning in late 1994 the
government
paid these debts by giving Gazprom, the Russian
state-controlled
gas company, equity stakes in key Moldovan enterprises. In
January 1995, Moldova gave control of Moldovagas, the
state-owned
gas company, to Gazprom.
Data as of June 1995
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