Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu stated that switching the Cuciurgan Power Plant to Ukrainian coal would require unjustified investments under current conditions. He emphasized that Chisinau does not intend to allocate funds to modernize an energy facility that is outside the control of the constitutional authorities.
The minister made the statements on Realitatea TV, noting that the issue of using Ukrainian coal for MGRES is not new.
“Coal for MGRES from Ukraine is not a new topic; there have been discussions on this matter before,” Junghietu said, according to BANI.MD.
He explained that Ukraine has a similar thermal power plant where energy units were modernized to operate on a different type of coal, and in 2025 specialists conducted a documentation visit to the Cuciurgan plant.
However, Junghietu stressed that such an investment is not appropriate in the current context.
“We must take into account that MGRES is not under the control of Chisinau’s constitutional authorities. Making investments so that the plant can switch to another type of coal is unjustified,” he stated.
The minister also reiterated that purchasing electricity produced on the left bank of the Dniester is not economically advantageous at present.
“At the current gas prices, it is not profitable to buy electricity from MGRES. The technology is very old, and the plant is outdated,” Junghietu explained.
Earlier, Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu described as “irrational” the proposal to supply Ukrainian coal to the Cuciurgan Thermal Power Plant, discussed during the government delegation’s visit to Kyiv on February 10. He said that analyses by the Ministry of Energy show that this solution would be very costly and that authorities are seeking more profitable options to secure energy resources.