State monopoly on electricity transportation, sale unchanged in Belarus

The state will keep its monopoly on transporting and selling electricity in Belarus but both state-run and private companies will be able to build power-generating sources. The statement was made by First Vice Premier of Belarus Vladimir Semashko at the plenary session of the 18th Belarusian Energy and Ecology Congress in Minsk on 16 October, BelTA has learned.

A bill on power engineering industry has been submitted to the Belarus parliament. The bill provides for reforming the structure of the national energy industry. As part of the reform the state will no longer have monopoly on electricity generation.

The First Vice Premier of Belarus specified that anyone will be able to build large-scale power plants but “we are not going to give away the power supply network”. The power supply network is a natural monopoly and it would be an error to transfer it into private ownership, said Vladimir Semashko, although Russia and Ukraine have done it. The ownership of the power supply network will allow the government to pursue an effective policy in the area of energy industry, laying down rules and regulations on distributing and transporting electricity to customers. The state will be able to influence the reliability of power supply and secure its economic effectiveness.