Konstantin Borosan
On December 11, the state electricity supplier Energocom conducted a test purchase on the PZU market – 1 MWh was bought at a price of 3080 lei (at 22.00 during peak hours). The next day, Navitas company, a member of Premier Energy group, also bought 1 MWh, but with delivery at 11.00 a.m. of the next day at the price of 1787.5 lei. The third planned transaction did not take place. Since then, there have been no movements on this market.
The Ministry of Energy explains this by the fact that operators should revise their strategies for selling and purchasing electricity, taking into account the new trading platforms.
Eugen Girlea, chairman of the Association of Green Energy Producers, said that for the time being the members of the association are looking at how the new mechanisms work. “We need a period of adaptation,” Girlea said.
OPEM for Logos Press explained in detail how the PZU and PPZ markets work.
Trading is done by aggregating all offers to sell electricity (up to 32 price-quantity pairs) into a single curve ordered by price in ascending order, or by aggregating all offers to buy electricity (up to 32 price-quantity pairs) into a single curve ordered by price in descending order.
The point of intersection of the demand curve and the supply curve determines the market closing price and the volume of electricity traded. For time intervals in which there are no offers to buy and/or offers to sell, or there is no intersection of the demand curve and the supply curve, the value (PIP – lei/MWh) is announced in accordance with the chapter “Special Pricing Rules” in the Operational Procedure for the day-ahead electricity market and in the relevant regulation for the intraday market.
In the absence of purchase and sale offers, the PIP closing price shall be announced ?? equal to the arithmetic mean between the minimum (0 lei/MWh) and the maximum limit for the trading day of the price scale established in accordance with the Procedure for setting and changing the price scale for the day-ahead electricity market and for the intraday electricity market.
Banking operations are carried out through MAIB, which acts as a central bank for settlement of transactions on PZU and PPZ.
OPCOM believes that the PZU and PPZ mechanisms, developed in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 164 of 26.06.2025 on Electricity, the Electricity Market Rules approved by ANRE and the Operational Procedures of OREM, will help the participants of the electricity market of RM to fulfill their obligations and use their opportunities. They provide them with transparent and secure market access, a reliable trading platform, and clear and compliant procedures regarding pre- and post-trade operations, including reporting activities.
However, to achieve the objective of supporting electricity market participants in maximizing benefits and establishing a stable electricity price, there is a need for continued interest from participants, their involvement in this market by registering offers to sell and buy. As well as the conclusion of transactions for the formation and subsequent consolidation of liquidity, which will provide prerequisites for a more stable electricity price.
To increase transparency, after the trading session OPEM publishes the results on its website, as well as other statistical data and summary information.
According to the director of the National Energy Regulatory Agency, Constantin Borosan, there are currently 96 electricity producers in Moldova with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW.
Of these, 25 were registered with OREM as of 10.12.2025. Among them, the majority are producers of energy from renewable energy sources (RES).
It would seem that having an installed capacity of 1000 MW could help Moldova to solve all its energy problems, given that the country consumes about 800 MW in winter, and only on frosty days this figure can exceed 1 GW.
However, it is not that simple. RES producers are small and small (10 kW to 50 MW). Many of them are not supported by balancing capacities, which prevents them from selling electricity directly to the Moldovan grid. More often than not, these companies export what they produce. Storage devices (BESS) are not available. Well, RES is strongly influenced by weather.
The Ministry of Energy predicts that this winter the share of energy from renewable sources in Moldova’s energy consumption will not exceed 10%, while in summer it was up to 40%.
Constantin Borosan noted that the emergence of PZU and PPZ markets will stimulate investments in battery-based energy storage systems due to the fact that electricity is several times more expensive during peak hours.
Following the launch of the day-ahead and intraday electricity markets in Moldova, OPEM will intensify joint activities within the framework of a regional project aimed at facilitating the accession of Moldova and Ukraine to the EU market integration system. ANRE appointed OPEM as the Authorized Electricity Market Operator (OPEED), tasked with the international integration of the day-ahead and intraday electricity markets over the next four years.
OPEM (Operatorul Pieței de Energie M S.R.L.) is the energy market operator in Moldova and a subsidiary of the electricity and natural gas market operator OPCOM SA (Operatorul Pieței de Energie Electrică și de Gaze Naturale) in Romania.
