Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Forbes on the energy crisis in Transnistria and the prospects for its resolution.
It is too early to talk about the humanitarian crisis in Transnistria, although its threat is undeniable, Alexey Belogoryev believes.
The inability to physically deliver Russian gas to Transnistria using the traditional route through Ukraine is the trigger of the current crisis, but not the main problem, the analyst believes. According to him, the main problem lies in the economic model of the region's energy supply, which has been based on subsidies from Russia for decades."A humanitarian crisis involves a critical threat to the health, safety, or well—being of a large group of people, including the inability to meet their basic needs,- he argues. Whether centralized heating and round—the—clock access to electricity are among these needs depends on the timing and local conditions."
Even if Tiraspol manages to find a physical replacement for Ukrainian transit, the PMR will still face a deep financial and budgetary crisis, since it will take about $600-$700 million per year, or about half of the GDP of the unrecognized republic, to obtain the necessary volumes of gas, the expert notes.

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