Before the start of the Astravas nuclear power plant: Latvians do not understand Nausėda’s actions, Estonians are surprised by Lithuanian law

The adviser to Latvia’s economy minister Vineta Vilistere-Lace “Delfi” said it was difficult for her to explain President Gitan Nausėda’s decision not to attend the Baltic summit in Estonia on June 25.

Lithuanian spokesman Antanas Bubnelis said last week that such a decision had been made without the Baltic ministers reaching an agreement on the purchase of electricity from the Astrava nuclear power plant.

Ms. Vilistere-Lace, for her part, noted that there had been no recent changes on this issue. “On the contrary, the discussions moved to the next stage, when Lithuanian officials proposed new topics for the declaration of commitment,” he said.

Timo Tatar, deputy chancellor of the Estonian Ministry of Economy and Transport, said he supported Lithuania’s concerns about the safety of the nuclear power plant being built in Belarus. However, he noted that there is no law in Estonia prohibiting the purchase of electricity produced there.

“There is no law in Estonia prohibiting the import of electricity from specific power plants in foreign countries. Such regulation is very unusual,” he said.

Representatives of the Lithuanian Ministries of Energy and Foreign Affairs assured that negotiations on the Astrava nuclear power plant with Latvia, Estonia and the European Commission are ongoing.

Getting ready to light

The start of operations at the Astrava nuclear power plant, which has been delayed several times, may take place before the presidential elections scheduled for August 9 in Belarus.

However, it is questionable whether the reactor could be fully operational by 2021. It has already been announced that nuclear fuel for the first reactor at the power plant was brought from Russia in early May.

The Belarusian Ministry of Energy has yet to respond to Delfi’s query about the commissioning date of the Astrava nuclear reactor.

At that time, Litgrid representatives recalled that it is their duty to ensure the reliable operation of the Lithuanian electrical system.

“To fulfill this obligation, the operator prepares plans, evaluating the different conditions and assumptions, the impact on the transverse load. The redistribution of electricity flows generated by the Astrave nuclear power plant is important not only for Lithuania, but also for all the Baltic States, which is why it is discussed at the BEMIP meetings of all Baltic operators and the European Commission.

The operators have carried out simulations and are technically ready for the possible start-up of the nuclear power plant in Belarus, “the comment reads.

It was also noted that the Lithuanian electrical system historically developed as part of the BRELL ring (Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania).

“The ring was designed to connect powerful nuclear power plants, including the Ignalina nuclear power plant, for reliable operation, therefore the Astravas power plant will not have a significant impact on the BRELL ring.

During normal normal operation, the Lithuanian network of the Astrave nuclear power plant will not be adversely affected.

In the event of an emergency disconnection, the physical flows of the Lithuanian interconnections would change, but the infrastructure available today is sufficient to guarantee reliability and the change in flows will not exceed the technical limits allowed, ”said Litgrid representatives.

Negotiation deadlock?

The Lithuanian government has yet to approve the Baltic agreement on the Astravo nuclear power plant. His project does not satisfy G. Nausėda either, and the Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius called it inconsistent with Lithuania’s interests.

Critics of the project lack Latvia’s commitment not to buy Belarusian electricity. At that time, the Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas stated that this statement would help Lithuania to block electricity imports.

“The negotiations with Latvia and Estonia, through the mediation of the European Commission, continue. Our objective is to have a sustainable agreement with the Baltic States, which would guarantee the implementation of the Lithuanian law on the non-access of Astravas electricity to the market Lithuanian ”, read Delphi’s comment from the Ministry of Energy.

For their part, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the issue of imports of electricity from third countries is multifaceted, including the unsafe purchase of electricity from the Astravas nuclear power plant and the implementation of long-term strategic security objectives. energy and energy independence and national security in the Baltic region.

“The Baltic states are seeking a consensus on imports of electricity from third countries, but this is not an easy process. Further coordination of positions with Latvia, Estonia and the European Commission is currently underway, and we hope to find a common understanding on this issue, ”states his response.

Latvians talk about technical details

Ms Vilistere-Lace, adviser to the Latvian Minister of Economy, said that the agreement should first be discussed at the expert level.

“Latvian officials have always played an active role in reaching a compromise and have shown a willingness to continue discussions,” he said.

The interlocutor explained that there are still time constraints, and the Latvian government last year made a political decision that benefits the entire Baltic electricity market, i. and. open its border with Russia when Lithuania closes its border with Belarus.

“Unfortunately, there is very little time left to compromise at this time,” he said.

Ms Vilistere-Lace stated that Latvia has also considered the technical aspects of electricity trade with third countries.

“These aspects include physical electricity flows until desynchronization occurs. Furthermore, Latvia currently has an electrical connection only with Russia, “he said.

On the political side, Ms. Vilistere-Lace said that Latvia was committed to following a long-term strategy for regional integration with Europe.

“One of the most important steps is to desynchronize by 2025. Short-term political goals should not overshadow that,” he said.

A Latvian government spokeswoman said she saw a “window to a deal.” “As long as the political declaration respects the objective facts, the independence and sovereignty of the Baltic States, the existing infrastructure, electricity flows, the functioning of the market and the long-term objectives of regional energy policy,” said Vilistere-Lace.

Estonians fail to keep up with change

T. Tatar, vice chancellor of the Estonian Ministry of Economy and Transport, said that negotiations on the methodology of electricity trade and the Ministerial Declaration are ongoing.

“There has been little progress in recent weeks. Lithuania rejected various options proposed by the European Commission and Estonia.” There is an increasing probability that we do not have a unified methodology, “he said.

The interlocutor feared that the timing of publicizing these disagreements was highly inappropriate. “Because we recently sent investment requests to the EC for the synchronization of the Baltic countries,” explained T. Tatar.

The representative of Estonia said that Estonia has no specific interest in buying electricity from Belarus.

“Furthermore, trade with third countries is a matter for the EC. I would also like to point out that the technical implementation of Lithuanian law in a unified system (like BRELL) is especially complicated, because the laws of physics apply to flows electrical technicians, “he said.

T. Tatar summarized that the only effective solution would be to speed up the synchronization of the Baltic States with European electricity grids.

“It just came to our attention then. However, at the time, Lithuania tried to convince Estonia and Latvia that the 200 megawatt priority trade corridor between Belarus and Lithuania needed to be maintained for security. If it is open, it is very difficult to trace all dynamic changes, “said the Estonian official.

The Astrava nuclear power plant will have two reactors from the Russian VVER project, each with a capacity of 1.2 thousand. MW. The second reactor is expected to start approximately one year after the start of the first reactor.

In June, the Belarusian media reported that emergency training had been held at the power plant. “The training scenario assumed that the first nuclear power plant unit was offline,” the report said.

It was also announced that the Russian government had agreed to postpone for two years the repayment of the loan granted for the construction of the Astrava nuclear power plant. “The term of use of the credit has been extended until 2022 <...> the return was postponed to April 1, 2023, ”the report reads.