Moldovan state-owned energy trader JSC Energocom said it would cover 100 percent of electricity consumption on January 3, two days after supplies of Russian natural gas abruptly stopped due to the expiration of a supply contract with Ukraine.
Energocom said on January 2 that consumption is expected to be higher by about 10 on January 3, but it will still cover demand. Electricity consumption of the right bank of the Dniester River was fully covered in the first two days of the year, the government's crisis group announced on January 2.
The company says that in addition to local production from heating plants in Chisinau and Balti and local renewable energy sources, electricity will be purchased from outside the country.
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Moldovans Facing Gas Shortages Are Chopping Wood To Get Through Winter
The crisis group, established on December 26, said that on January 1 almost half of the country's electricity consumption was covered by imports from Romania and there was no need to activate contingency contracts or unintended flows.
Authorities in Chisinau, meanwhile, confirmed that the breakaway region of Transdniester, which has not been supplied with natural gas since January 1, is being provided with electricity after the power plant serving the region switched to coal-fired operation.
SEE ALSO: Russian Gas Flow Through Pipeline In Ukraine EndsAccording to public data, Tiraspol has reserves of about 70,000 tons of coal, which could cover consumption of the region for 30 to 50 days.
The municipal administration in Transdniester's capital, Tiraspol, said it has natural gas reserves of about 13 million cubic meters, which is sufficient for about 20 days.
But people in at least 11 communities near Tiraspol had no supply of natural gas, heating and hot water on January 1. The city has set up 30 meeting points where people can gather to warm up and eat hot meals. Meanwhile, about 115,000 households are receiving natural gas supplies only for cooking, according to supplier Tiraspoltransgaz.
"For now, the situation is not critical," one man from the city of Tighina told RFE/RL's Moldovan service on January 2, noting he has been able to cope so far using his electric stove. "For others, maybe, it's worse," he quickly added.
Ukraine’s decision not to renew the contract allowing the flow of Russian gas through its territory deepened a rift between Kyiv and Bratislava.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on January 2 that the Slovak government will discuss retaliatory measures, including cutting electricity supplies to Ukraine, lowering aid to Ukrainian refugees, and demanding either the renewal of gas transits or compensation for losses.
"The only alternative for a sovereign Slovakia is renewal of transit or demanding compensation mechanisms that will replace the loss in public finances of nearly 500 million euros,” Fico said on Facebook.
Slovakia has alternative gas supplies, but Fico says Slovakia will lose its own transit revenues and pay additional transit fees to bring in non-Russian gas.
Fico said a Slovak delegation would discuss the situation in Brussels next week and then his ruling coalition would discuss retaliation for what he called "sabotage" by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy said on January 1 that the end of natural gas supplies to Europe via the pipeline traversing Ukraine is a major defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin after accusing Moscow of “weaponizing energy.”