Moldovan cabinet approves regulation concerning emergency situations on natural gas market

Chisinau, 03 April /MOLDPRES/ – The Cabinet of Ministers (CM) has approved at its today meeting the Regulation on Exceptional Situations on the Natural Gas Market and the Action Plan for Exceptional Situations on the Natural Gas Market.

The project sets out the basic principles and rules governing the functions of natural gas market participants, the actions to be undertaken, prevention measures for coordination of activities on the natural gas market and actions to be taken in the event of gas supply disruptions.

Also, the project defines the exceptional situations and the exhaustive establishment of the responsibilities of responsible authorities and natural gas undertakings, in particular of transmission system operators.

The Action Plan for Exceptional Situations on the Natural Gas Market is updated every two years if the circumstances do not require a more frequent update and reflect the updated version of the risk assessment. In identifying and assessing the risks associated with the security of natural gas supply, the two cases of natural gas supply by Russia in 1992 and 2009 were taken into account.

The general management of exceptional situations, including the coordination of the necessary measures to be taken by the relevant public authorities as well as by the natural gas market participants in the event of an exceptional situation, as well as the monitoring of the implementation of these measures, shall be carried out by the Commission for Exceptional Situations of Moldova.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, in 2011-2016, consumption and natural gas imports for the right bank of the Dniester decreased by about 10 per cent, from 1,152 million m3 in 2011 to 1,038 m3 in 2016. The natural gas transmission networks in operation include 827.0 km of main pipelines, of which 668.8 are situated on the right bank of the Dniester, 1106.3 km of gas pipelines, of which 903.4 km are located on the right side of the Dniester.

The natural gas distribution networks, situated on the right bank of the Dniester river, on 01 January 2017, had a length of over 23 thousand km. At natural gas distribution networks, natural gas installations are connected to over 708 thousand consumers, of which over 693 thousand are household consumers.