BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

10/10/2007

Belarus to import up to 5 Bln kWh of electricity in 2008

MINSK. Oct 10 (Interfax) - Belarus plans to import up to 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from Russia and Ukraine next year, Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk told Interfax.

"We're working with Russia and Ukraine on shipments of electricity to Belarus next year. We plan to import up to 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, but it depends on the price and technical abilities of these countries," he said.

Russia and Ukraine are discussing the possibility of using the price for the general energy market for exported electricity, he said. Belarus will determine its position on this only when importers make official proposals.

Belarus planned to import up to 5.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from Russia and Ukraine this year. However, Ukraine stopped supplying electricity in the second half of the year due to the lack of the technical capacity to do so. The average price for Ukrainian electricity this year was $0.0244 - $0.0245 per kilowatt-hour. Russian electricity cost somewhat more but not more than electricity produced in Belarus ($0.04 per kilowatt-hour). The average price for the general energy market is $0.045 or more per kilowatt-hour this year.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/321828/news.aspx

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