Action Plan for Extraordinary Situations in the Electricity Market Developed

The Ministry of Energy has designed an action plan for extraordinary situations in the electricity market. Based on possible scenarios, measures were envisaged to prevent and manage crisis situations related to electricity supply, ipn.md reports. Similar plans are being developed by all EU member states and the Energy Community. The national crisis scenario concerns the overloading of low-voltage power grids, especially in urban areas, due to shortages or interruption of natural gas supplies to final users in winter, through the use of electrical appliances for heating. The expected risks are divided into several categories related to fuel shortages, disruptions in the electricity market, malicious attacks, extreme weather conditions, technical failures, natural disasters, human factors, etc. The developed regulation defines the roles and responsibilities of electricity companies, electricity market participants, system users and consumers in the issues of reducing electricity security risks and preparing for prevention and management of crisis in the electricity sector, ensuring transparency and taking into account the requirements of a competitive electricity market. It also sets out the tasks of the Commission for Emergency Situations and crisis management procedures for different scenarios. The Commission, after being notified by the transmission system operator or the Ministry of Energy, verifies the risks and defines the exceptional situation within a maximum of 12 hours. It then coordinates actions in the sector and its decisions are binding and take precedence over the electricity companies’ own plans. The total electricity consumption in the Republic of Moldova in 2022 is 4,513 million kWh. The peak load on the electricity system in winter exceeds 1000 MW, while in summer the electricity load varies between 330-700 MW for the right bank. There are 1,284.8 thousand end consumers connected to the electricity distribution networks, of which 95.45% are household consumers. They accounted for about 44% of the total volume of electricity supplied in 2022.