Moldova's pro-Russian separatist region of Transdniestria, which no longer receives gas from Russia via Ukraine, is facing prolonged rolling power cuts, Reuters reported, citing local authorities on January 4, local time.
The flow of Russian gas through Ukraine to Central and Eastern Europe has been halted since January 1, when a transit contract expired and Kiev refused to renew it. Transdniestria, a predominantly Russian-speaking region, receives gas from Russia's Gazprom via a pipeline running through Ukraine.
The gas is used to power a thermal power plant that supplies electricity to Transdniestria and much of Moldova, which is controlled by the pro-European central government.
Self-proclaimed President Vadim Krasnoselsky wrote on the Telegram app that the rolling blackouts would increase to four hours on January 5, after increasing from one hour on January 3 to three hours on January 4.
"Yesterday's test outage showed that a one-hour outage is not enough to maintain the power system. The amount of electricity produced cannot meet the sharp increase in demand," Mr. Krasnoselsky said.
Industries, except food production, were closed, including the steel mill and banh mi factory in the town of Rybnitsa.
Local authorities have warned residents to prepare for a cold snap with temperatures dropping to minus 10 degrees Celsius, especially the elderly. Two deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning from stoves have been reported.
People are being encouraged to stock up on firewood as soldiers distribute it to homes.
The Moldovan government blamed Russia for the crisis and asked Gazprom to transport gas via the TurkStream pipeline through Bulgaria and Romania. Meanwhile, Russia denied using gas as a political tool and blamed Ukraine for not renewing the transit contract.
The power outage in Transdniestria also affects Moldova, as the region is home to a plant that supplies much of the central government's cheap electricity.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean called it a security crisis but said the country was preparing alternatives, including generating electricity domestically and importing electricity from Romania.
Gazprom had previously announced that it would stop exporting gas to Moldova from January 1, accusing the country of owing $709 million. However, Moldova denied the claim and said the debt was only $8.6 million.
