Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu convened a government meeting to consider a proposal to introduce a 60-day state of emergency in the country's energy sector due to the disconnection of the Isaccea-Vulcănești power line, UNN reports with reference to NewsMaker.
Details
According to Munteanu, the government will meet on Tuesday and then go to parliament to convince deputies to approve a 60-day state of emergency.
"Night strikes led to the disconnection of the main power transmission line that supplies Moldova with electricity - the Vulcănești-Isaccea line. Four interconnection lines with Romania were activated, but the situation remains difficult. Russia bears sole responsibility for this. The government must act promptly and responsibly. Therefore, today at 13:00, I convened a government meeting, and we will propose introducing a state of emergency in the energy sector for 60 days," Munteanu noted.
"This is not a panic measure, but a responsible step. This is a necessary measure that allows us to act quickly, coordinately, and in the interests of the people. (...) The introduction of a state of emergency will allow us to act faster: mobilize additional resources, protect critical infrastructure, and, if necessary, apply additional measures to mitigate the consequences of the crisis," the Moldovan Prime Minister stated on March 24 on his Facebook page.
As the publication writes, citing the country's National Crisis Management Center, "drones were found to have fallen in the immediate vicinity of the damaged power line infrastructure, which requires restricting access for technical teams and conducting demining operations for the safe execution of necessary work."
It is specified that "in parallel, teams of transmission system operators from Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine are conducting coordinated technical inspections."
The exact duration of the work will be determined after demining is completed on site.
During this period, residents of the country were urged to consume electricity responsibly.
Addition
On the evening of March 23, the Isaccea-Vulcănești cross-border power transmission line, which connects the energy systems of Moldova and Romania, was disconnected. According to the country's Crisis Management Center, the power line may have been damaged as a result of shelling of Ukraine's infrastructure. Currently, alternative electricity supply routes are being used, including four 110 kV power lines between Romania and Moldova.
At the end of January, the disconnection of the Isaccea-Vulcănești power line led to a partial blackout in Moldova. At that time, most of the country's settlements were left without electricity due to a network failure. In Chisinau, trolleybuses stopped, traffic lights did not work, and dozens of people were trapped in elevators.