On December 28, Russia’s Gazprom announced that it would stop supplying natural gas to Moldova from 07:00 on January 1, 2025, allegedly due to the Moldovan side’s refusal to settle its debt for the supplied natural gas. Gazprom sent an official notice of suspension of gas supplies to Moldovagaz on Saturday, December 28.
According to Gazprom, Moldovagaz regularly fails to fulfill its payment obligations under the existing contract, which significantly violates its terms.
“In this regard, based on the provisions of the contract and the norms of Russian legislation, Gazprom PJSC from 8:00 Moscow time on January 1, 2025, introduces a limitation of natural gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova to 0 cubic meters per day,” Gazprom said in a statement.
There is no mention of the completion of the transit agreement between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine on January 1, 2025, which is probably the main reason for the suspension of supplies.
As a reminder, Moldova introduced a state of emergency in the energy sector on December 16, 2024, fearing the end of Russian gas supplies. Russian gas is primarily used at the Cuciurgan power station (Transnistria), which supplies electricity to most of the country.
Moldova will also limit electricity exports from January 1 and take measures to reduce electricity use by at least one-third to prevent blackouts caused by the interruption of gas supplies from Russia.