The government of Moldova declared a 60-day state of alert for the national energy sector on March 4 to address risks to prices and supply generated by the Middle East conflict, compounded by regional vulnerabilities, a government statement said. 

Moldova has no refinery or natural gas storage facilities and imports most of its electricity while gradually developing domestic generation capacity, primarily based on renewable sources. The country’s main power plant is controlled by the separatist authorities in Transnistria.

The separatist region tightened its own state of emergency regime, in force in various forms since January 2025, when Russia’s Gazprom halted direct gas supplies through Ukraine to Moldova. The authorities in Tiraspol have so far refused to buy gas under joint procurement arrangements with the rest of the country and instead rely on unstable supply schemes financed by Russia.

"The purpose of declaring a state of alert is to maintain sufficient stocks of petroleum products for domestic consumption; to ensure the continuity of electricity supply, especially during peak consumption hours; to protect household consumers and critical infrastructure," said Serghei Diaconu, general director of the National Crisis Management Center, as quoted in the government statement.

"I urge citizens to trust the institutions: there are no reasons for excess purchases of fuel, there is no point in queuing at gas stations," he added. 

The Middle East conflict erupted at a delicate moment for Moldova’s energy system. State energy trader Energocom announced last week that natural gas reserves are nearly depleted. The situation follows lower reserves during the ending cold season, after larger gas stocks accumulated during the previous cold season generated financial losses.

At the same time, the supply of petroleum products from two key sources has become uncertain. Romania’s largest refinery, Rompetrol, entered a scheduled 20-day maintenance shutdown at the beginning of March. It is also unclear when and at what capacity the Lukoil refinery in Romania — currently under international sanctions and operating under a special regime imposed by Romanian authorities — may resume operations after a similar outage. Separately, the end of the heating season means Moldova’s combined heat and power plants will stop operating, increasing the country’s need for electricity imports.

The state of alert is a less restrictive regime than a state of emergency and is intended to prevent potential disruptions in the supply of petroleum products and electricity. The government stressed that supplies will not be interrupted and that consumption needs are covered by existing stocks for the next 30 days.

“The uncertainty is high, and we have to consider the scenario of further escalation,” Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu said.

Under the state of alert regime, exports and re-exports of petroleum products from the Giurgiulești port may be authorised only if reserves remain above minimum thresholds of 8,000 tonnes of petrol and 25,000 tonnes of diesel. Import procedures for petroleum fuels will be prioritised to avoid logistical bottlenecks, and the state reserves will be replenished to maximum levels.

On the electricity market, exports will be banned during peak hours except for existing contractual obligations, while stricter balancing rules will be enforced.

In Transnistria, authorities introduced a strict natural gas saving regime on March 4, leaving the population without heating and partly without hot water, according to Newsmaker.md.

The situation was confirmed by authorities in Tiraspol, who said all gas-fired thermal power plants have been disconnected “until further notice.” They cited critical disruptions in gas delivery mechanisms caused by military tensions in the Middle East.

The MoldGRES power plant will switch to coal-fired generation, with heating limited to hospitals, social institutions and kindergartens. Schools were not mentioned among the priority consumers.

According to the de facto authorities, the escalation in the Middle East has significantly reduced gas delivery volumes to the region.

“A strict savings regime has been introduced,” the statement from the so-called Ministry of Economy of the region said.

Electricity production at the Cuciurgan-based MoldGRES plant will continue using coal in volumes required for consumers. Heat will be supplied to medical and social institutions and kindergartens, while hot water delivery to households will continue.

“All possible measures are being taken to restore the mechanism of full supply of Transnistria with natural gas,” the statement added.