Belarus eager to improve power grid connection procedures

Belarusian electricity providers invite private businesses to discuss problems in connecting their enterprises to the power grid, representatives of the Energy Ministry and the national electrical company Belenergo told media on 10 October.

BelTA has learned that Getting Electricity is one of the indicators that influence a country’s ranking in the international Doing Business report. Evaluating the Getting Electricity indicator, experts of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation evaluate the number of procedures a business has to go through to get a new building connected to the power grid, the time and money cost of every procedure (in percent of income per capita). In the Doing Business 2013 report Belarus was ranked 171 out of 185 countries in the Getting Electricity indicator (seven procedures with the total time cost of 179 days and the cost as large as 838% of income per capita). Back then Belarus improved its ranking by only two points. Belarusian electricity providers have no optimistic expectations regarding the Doing Business 2014 report despite the reforms that have been carried out or are in progress to facilitate the connection of businesses to the power grid.

To raise the awareness of private business about the accomplished reforms the relevant information has been put on the websites of the Energy Ministry and the Belenergo enterprise, in mass media. The Energy Ministry is trying to establish cooperation with business unions in order to discuss problems involved in connecting to the power grid. Although no response has been received so far, the Energy Ministry is eager to discuss topical issues with businessmen.

Advisor of the Production and Technology Department of the Energy Ministry Olga Rybakovskaya informed about the reforms implemented over the last few years with regard to connecting to the power grid. The Belarusian Energy Ministry puts consistent efforts into enabling one-stop procedures for connecting to the power grid. She noted that although the Energy Ministry and the corporations it controls are responsible for only two out of the seven procedures the Getting Electricity indicator takes care of, the Energy Ministry has taken several steps to facilitate the other five procedures.