Residents of Copanca block electricity installation amid price concerns
Several residents of Copanca village in Căușeni district are protesting against plans to connect their village to the electricity grid managed by the Moldovan constitutional authorities.
According to regional media, residents blocked Premier Energy Company from installing electricity poles.
Currently, Copanca is connected to the electricity network on the left bank of the Dniester River. Protesters argue that switching to the new grid would increase electricity prices by approximately four times.
“We won’t allow this. We don’t want it. We don’t agree. We’ll stay here and stop them from working. People are against such high price increases,” said one protester.
“The constitutional authorities are monitoring the situation and will respond to this issue in due course,” said Mariana Sarî, press officer for the Bureau for Reintegration, in a statement to Teleradio-Moldova.
Premier Energy Company was contacted for a comment but has not responded so far.
Since the beginning of the year, the left bank has faced a severe electricity shortage, with scheduled power outages becoming routine. The Emergency Situations Commission decided to connect Copanca and Varnița villages to the electricity grid on the right bank of the Dniester River. Meanwhile, 14 localities in the Security Zone are set to be connected to natural gas networks managed by Moldovagaz.
The National Energy Regulatory Agency approved requests from Moldovagaz and Premier Energy to carry out the necessary works to connect the localities in the Security Zone to electricity and natural gas networks.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
