Fast Facts
| Trading Licence | ANRE Electricity Trading Licence or Supply Licence mandatory for wholesale market participants |
| Local Entity | Foreign traders must establish a local Moldovan company; Branches are not accepted |
| Licence Duration | Power trading and supply licences are valid for 10 years |
| Application Fee | Statutory fee approximately EUR 170 |
| Market Scale | Moldova historically relies on imports for about 65-75% of demand |
| Renewables | Over 1,000 MW renewables out of 1,400 MW total installed capacity and growing (right-bank only) |
Moldova Power Market Fundamentals
Moldova's power market is formally liberalised under Law 164/2025, with clear rules for market registration and balancing responsibility.
Organised spot trading is facilitated by OPEM, Moldova's Nominated Electricity Market Operator and a subsidiary of OPCOM Romania. Day-ahead and intraday markets are live.
Moldova historically relies on imports for about 65-75% of national demand. The right-bank has over 1,000 MW of installed renewables out of 1,400 MW total installed capacity, and growing fast.
When Is a Licence Required in Moldova's Power Market?
ANRE is Moldova's National Energy Regulatory Agency. An ANRE electricity trading licence for wholesale activity or a supply licence is mandatory for wholesale market participants.
Foreign entities from EU or Energy Community states cannot passport licences and must establish a local Moldovan legal entity. The application dossier is submitted in Romanian and signed by the legal representative.
Applicants pay a statutory fee of approximately EUR 170 and must prove technical capability, employ qualified personnel with university diplomas, and appoint an administrator with no criminal record.
Applicants must also receive positive State Information and Security Service (SIS) approval and anti-money-laundering clearance, and demonstrate financial capacity via audited financial statements or bank statements confirming the availability of necessary capital.
What Are Moldova's Power Market Licence Requirements for EU and Non-EU Entities?
EU and non-EU entities face the same requirement: all foreign traders must establish a local company in Moldova, as branches are not accepted for licensing purposes.
Power trading and supply licences are issued for 10 years. Applicants must receive positive State Information and Security Service (SIS) approval and anti-money-laundering clearance, employ qualified personnel and an administrator holding a university degree, and demonstrate financial capacity via audited financial statements or bank statements confirming the necessary capital.
Balancing in the Moldova Power Market
Moldelectrica is Moldova's TSO, managing the balancing market and facilitating cross-border electricity exchanges.
Moldelectrica operates the single balancing zone and manages grid operations synchronously with ENTSO-E as part of the Ukraine-Moldova Load-Frequency Control block.
Participants must register as a Balancing Responsible Party or join an existing BRP and provide financial guarantees to the TSO.
Due to a lack of domestic balancing reserves, a temporary PSO is imposed on the TSO Moldelectrica until 2030 to ensure system stability via non-market mechanisms.
Transmission Capacity in the Moldova Power Market
All capacity on the Romania and Ukraine borders is allocated through explicit auctions across annual, monthly and daily timeframes.
Capacity allocation at the Romanian border is managed by Transelectrica through the DAMAS electronic allocation platform.
Capacity at the Ukrainian border is allocated by Ukrenergo through its electronic capacity platform.
Traders must register with the relevant TSOs, provide bank guarantees and comply with cross-border allocation rules.
Security of supply is expected to improve through the new Vulcanesti-Chisinau 400 kV internal line and new planned interconnections with Romania.
Moldova Power Market Exchange(s)
OPEM, owned by OPCOM Romania, is Moldova's designated Nominated Electricity Market Operator for organised electricity markets.
The spot markets are currently local, with full integration into European SDAC and SIDC mechanisms expected by 2027-2028.
OPEM acts as the central counterparty for the Day-Ahead Market, using a Direct Debit mechanism for participant payments and providing day-ahead and intraday products.
5 Market Entry Steps for Moldova Power Market
- 01Establish a local Moldovan company and obtain the ANRE power trading or supply licence.
- 02Sign the balancing contract and post financial guarantees with Moldelectrica.
- 03Onboard with OPEM for spot trading and register for explicit border capacity auctions.
- 04Register in the National Register of Wholesale Market Participants.
- 05Obtain a unique ECRB identification code.
- Post-Market Entry Reporting Obligations.
CorreggioNET, Moldova Power Market Access Report
Market Access Reports: CorreggioNET offers Pre-Market Entry Reports (PMER) as part of the PMER Library, providing firms an A to Z guide for market entry.
CorreggioNET Alert Service: helps you never miss a reporting obligation. Note that Moldova has several power market reporting obligations, combined with high regulatory volatility.
CorreggioNET Hotline: for your time-sensitive queries, the Regulatory Hotline Service provides direct support through an online interaction with a qualified regulatory specialist.
Consulting Solutions: For those firms which require additional assistance, Correggio Consulting is on hand to assist with all your licensing needs:
- Obtaining a trading licence in Moldova;
- BRP Registration and registration with TSO Moldelectrica;
- Corporate structuring;
- OPEM Exchange onboarding;
- EFET contract negotiation;
- Yearly compliance audits;
Market Info
Stay Compliant After Market Entry
Entering a new market is only the beginning.
Once trading activity starts, the real challenge is staying compliant with ongoing regulatory updates and reporting obligations. CorreggioNET supports this post-market entry stage through its regulatory platform and monitoring services.
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