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Potential in place for Belarus to double electricity export

OSTROVETS DISTRICT, 28 March (BelTA) – The Belarusian Energy Ministry sees potential for doubling the country’s electricity export, BelTA learned from Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk on 28 March.

According to the source, in 2018 Belarus exported over 1 billion kWh in the direction of the Baltic states due to several reasons. Mikhail Mikhadyuk said: “We are now exporting electricity mainly in the same direction. In Q1 2019 electricity export will be roughly 0.5 billion kWh. We evaluate our potential for exporting electricity in current conditions at over 2 billion kWh per annum. It can be even higher than that under certain conditions. The potential will grow even larger once the nuclear power plant is commissioned.” In 2018 Belarus stopped importing electricity.

According to the deputy energy minister, at present Belarus has contracts with a number of companies working for the Lithuanian zone of the Nord Pool trade platform. Belarusian electricity is exported via these companies. “A number of other international companies show interest in Belarusian electricity and potential capabilities of our country. We are in consultations with them in order to discuss ways not only to export more electricity via Nord Pool but other avenues, too,” Mikhail Mikhadyuk said. The other avenues may include Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast using a Russian design featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.

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