Belarus to stop importing electric power in 2018

Belarus is set to stop importing electric power starting from 2018, head of the energy efficiency department at the Energy Ministry of Belarus Mikhail Malashenko said at the online conference on the BelTA website on 4 December.

“We will no longer import electric power starting from 2018,” he said. This will become possible after the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) is put into operation.

The commissioning of the BelNPP will involve the use of the most efficient facilities of the energy system, with the lower specific consumption of electric power. Mikhail Malashenko noted that the specific electric power consumption of condensation stations in new units and existing units differs by about 30%. The prime cost of one KWh of energy generated by the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be considerably lower compared to the cost of energy generated today.

Mikhail Malashenko noted that after the Belarusian nuclear power plant becomes operational, electric power can be supplied to other countries. “This will help reduce the prime cost of the final product (electric power – BelTA’s note) for Belarusian consumers, be them businesses or households,” Mikhail Malashenko concluded.

As was reported earlier, Belarus has plans to purchase about 2.5 billion kWh of electric energy from abroad in 2015. Belarus cuts down on energy import ever year. In 2014 the electricity import nearly halved over 2012.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built 18km away from the town of Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in 2018, the second one in 2020.