Representatives of National Power Grid Company Transelectrica and Republic of Moldova officials discussed on January 26 in Bucharest the expansion of Romania’s electricity and gas market operator OPCOM to the Moldovan electricity market, Transelectrica informs, according to Agerpres.

The official delegation from the Republic of Moldova, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu visited the energy company to discuss strengthening energy cooperation.

„The timeliness of OPCOM, a subsidiary of Transelectrica SA, expanding to the Moldovan electricity market was discussed, and the next steps were agreed for OPCOM to become the electricity market operator in the Republic of Moldova. Attending the talks were Chairman of Transelectrica’s Board of Directors Gabriel Andronache, Board member Bogdan Toncescu, and OPCOM CEO Victor Ionescu. The visit at Transelectrica’s premises follows the discussions hosted on Wednesday, January 25, by the Energy Ministry regarding the development of energy cooperation between Romania and the Republic of Moldova through concrete projects,” the company release reads.

Transelectrica CEO Gabriel Andronache participated in the meeting at the Energy Ministry dedicated to energy interconnection projects, highlighting the main bilateral priorities in terms of electricity transmission.

The topics discussed included solutions to speed up the project of the 400 kV overhead power line interconnecting Suceava (RO) and Balti (MD), as well as solutions for developing a new interconnection through a 400 kV line, which will be included in an update to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Romania and the Government of the Republic of Moldova on the interconnection of the national energy systems (gas and electricity).

Also, the sides looked at the progress towards the integration of Moldova’s national power grid operator Moldelectrica with the European Network of Transmission System Operators ENTSO-E, with Transelectrica reaffirming its support for the project by providing the Moldovan TSO with the necessary expertise to fulfill the compliance steps.

Agerpres