Moldovans fear looming energy shortage as Russia halts gas supplies

abcnews.go.com:

Moldovans are bracing for a difficult winter ahead as a looming energy shortage could leave them without enough energy

CHISINAU, Moldova — On a frigid morning in Moldova’s capital, 39-year-old postal worker Petru Murzin braces for a difficult winter as he fears a looming energy shortage could leave many Moldovans with “no heating, no light.”

His concerns aren’t unfounded.

On Jan. 1, Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom is set to halt gas supplies to the European Union candidate country over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies, a figure fiercely disputed by Moldova’s pro-Western government, that has accused Moscow of weaponizing energy as a political tool to destabilize the country.

“I feel that we’ve entered a crisis that is quite difficult to resolve … which worries me greatly,” Murzin told The Associated Press in Chisinau. “Price increases are one thing, but when there is no gas at all, that’s something entirely different.”

The cessation will stop gas flowing to the Kuciurgan power plant, the country’s largest, which is situated in the separatist pro-Russian Transnistria region. The gas-operated plant generates electricity that powers a significant portion of Moldova proper.

“There will be no heating, no light,” Murzin added. “We are entering a very difficult year."

Transnistria, which broke away after a short war in 1992 and is not recognized by most countries, also declared its own state of emergency earlier this month, fearing the region will not receive gas supplies. A large majority of Transnistria’s 470,000 people speak Russian as their first language and some 200,000 are Russian citizens.

On Dec. 13, Moldova’s parliament voted in favor of imposing a state of emergency in the energy sector, as