The Moldovan Ministry of Energy and USAID have signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of a new interconnection project that will link Moldova and Romania. The new 400-kV overhead power line will run for 190 km and link the Strășeni and Gutinaș power stations. It will be the third direct connection between Moldova and Romania. The project is expected to start construction in late 2025 and be completed in 2029.
The Moldovan Government hopes that the three interconnection lines with the Romanian energy system will bring Moldova, expectedly in 2028, in a situation where it will be able to integrate the European energy market through the Romanian market, before potentially joining the EU.
The construction of the Strășeni-Gutinaș high voltage power line is part of the MoldovaConnected programme, which is a broader USAID effort to strengthen Moldovan energy security and autonomy by linking local and European energy infrastructure. Investments of US$220m are planned in the coming years to improve the stability of the country’s electricity grid and increase opportunities for domestic generation using renewable energy resources.
Moldova’s transmission network is currently connected to Ukraine (1.25–1.5 GW of import capacity) and Romania (150-200 MW in island mode because of two different systems).