CHISINAU, February 3. /TASS/. The supplies of heating and electric power to the homes of Transnistrian residents have been restored following a month-long interruption caused by the suspension of Russian gas transit via Ukrainian territory, Sergey Obolonik, the vice chairman of the unrecognized republic’s government, said at a meeting of the emergency headquarters.

"We launched the Moldovan Hydropower Plant, increased the production volume which made it possible to prevent rolling blackouts and supply the full volume of electric power to the population of Transnistria," Obolonik said, as quoted by the presidential press service.

According to him, almost all boiler rooms have been activated while the temperature within the system has already reached 60 degrees Centigrade. As for gas supplies, currently, this remains the most difficult issue, because in order to deliver gas, energy workers must pay house calls to all consumers, the official explained. "With gas supplies, we are hoping for the end of the week. The task is to speed up this process as much as possible," he specified.

Transnistria began to receive gas since late afternoon on February 1. The fuel was purchased with a 20-million-euro EU grant. It was noted that this was sufficient for 10 days of consumption by the private sector and small enterprises. It is expected that, following this period, agreements between the Transnistrian leadership and Russia and Hungary on long-term gas deliveries will be implemented.

A state of emergency has been in force in Moldova and the unrecognized republic of Transnistria after Ukraine halted Russian gas transit on January 1. To save resources, Transnistria’s authorities were forced to cut centralized heating and hot water supplies to residential houses and halt industrial enterprises. The Moldovan Hydropower Plant on the left bank of the Dniester River, which belongs to Russia’s Inter RAO and has been ensuring 80% of Moldova’s electric power needs, has been switched to coal.