Moldova declares another state of emergency over energy crisis
Moldova's government approved a 60-day state of emergency on January 20, in light of the country's difficulty in meeting the payment schedule for Russian gas supply.
Moldova entered into a new gas supply with Russia's Gazprom in late October. But while the country managed to secure more affordable gas, it is still paying significantly higher prices than what it did in 2020. According to Russia's TASS news agency, the price for supplies in January is $647/'000 m3.
As a result, Moldova has struggled to meet its payment schedule with Gazprom, prompting the Russian company to threaten to cut off supply. On January 19, the government said it had requested a change in the payment schedule but Gazprom had refused. On January 20, Moldovan energy firm Moldovagaz said it had paid its January gas advance to Gazprom.
Declaring a state of emergency gives the government power to take extra steps to alleviate the country's energy crisis, such as diverting gas supplies from industry to households and accessing budget funds quickly to make payments to Gazprom. The government similarly took this step in late October, days before signing its new supply contract with Gazprom.