Belarus will create wholesale market of electric energy

Belarus’ power engineering industry has started working on the establishment of the wholesale market of electric energy, Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus Mikhail Mikhadyuk said during an online conference on the BelTA website on 23 October.

“The energy sector is a multifunctional system and it is technologically complex; therefore, while improving its management structure, we tried not to make it worse. We are going to divide energy production depending on the type of operations, like production and distribution, reproduction and sale of electric and heat energy,” the Deputy Energy Minister said.

In his view, these measures will help enhance competitiveness and transparency of spending in each type of operation, because the ultimate goal of this reformation is the establishment of the wholesale market. “This is not only about domestic needs, but also about reduction of spending as part of the international obligations that Belarus assumed when it joined the common market,” he said.

The transfer of 12 high-pressure electric power plants into direct subordination of Belenergo is also on the agenda. This move will help centralize finances with a view to improving the performance of these facilities. It is also expected to streamline their financial management by outlining priority development areas for each station, the Deputy Energy Minister noted. “A regional transmission company will be set up during the second stage. The company will be owned by the state. This is a common practice around the world and it is designed to ensure the transparency of spending on electric energy transmission. This is done in the CIS member states; many are already ahead of us in this respect. We need to do this because of our plans to create a wholesale market of electric energy at the end of the process,” Mikhail Mikhadyuk said.

All these transformations, in his view, will help encourage foreign direct investments into the domestic power engineering industry and help diversify energy supplies and energy consumption in Belarus.

“Our plans include restructuring of agencies affiliated with the energy inspection service. Today the energy inspection service does not only monitor the work of the power grid, but it also controls the operation of electric energy installations of individuals. The energy inspection service is subordinate to the regional energy system, while we believe that a separate and independent agency should be established within the framework of the Energy Ministry. This will help improve its performance,” Mikhail Mikhadyuk said.

The Deputy Energy Minister noted that the ministry aims at fundamental transformations with a view to enhancing the reliability and manageability of Belarus’ power engineering industry, because this industry is among the key economic sectors.