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“The Astravas nuclear power plant is ready for launch,” said Dainius Gaižauskas, chairman of the Seimas Defense and National Security Committee, after the closed part of the committee meeting, where this issue was discussed.
According to the parliamentarian, the commission was convened to obtain the most up-to-date information on the possible start-up of the Astravo nuclear power plant. He did not rule out that the Astravo nuclear power plant will be launched this Friday.
“To this day, we cannot say that the nuclear power plant will not be launched. Everything happens in a hurry. Not all safety-related tests are done. Stress tests are not carried out either. (…) Currently only the Physical commissioning, that is, refueling with nuclear fuel. According to experts, this process does not present a high risk in the event of a possible accident, but the subsequent process, energy, when electricity can be commercialized, poses a threat significant for national security, ”said D. Gaižauskas.
The president of the Seimas NSGK noted that Russia is pressuring Belarus to start up a nuclear power plant.
“Belarus may not support the start-up of the Astrava nuclear power plant at this time, but there is a lot of pressure from Rossatom, on the Russian side, and we believe that the power plant will come online, precisely because of pressure from Russia, “Gaižauskas said.
Lithuania was informed about the delivery of fuel the day before.
After the meeting, Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas stated that Lithuania has no official information on the physical start-up of the Astravas nuclear power plant this Friday.
“There are basically two sources where you can get that information. One source is the regulators’ early warning agreement. In accordance with good practice, since Lithuania was also informed about the fuel delivery one day before the fuel delivery, this information channel (including physical start-up) should be used in accordance with that practice.
And the second moment, due to refueling. We do not have information on licenses for both operation and refueling. That date was known before, but in a formal sense we do not have such information, “said Ž. Vaičiūnas.
According to the minister, Friday is the political launch date of the Astrava nuclear power plant, which was associated with the presidential elections in Belarus.
“There is a possible launch this Friday as well, and possibly later,” he said. Vaičiūnas.
The minister emphasized that it was important for Lithuania to ensure preparation for all stages, as the physical launch is just one of them.
As has already been made public, the operating license is divided into several parts. This means that the operating license will not be obtained during this period. In general, there are three main stages: physical commissioning, energy and commercial commissioning of the power plant, ”Ž said. Vaičiūnas.
The question about Latvia has not yet been answered
According to the minister, Lithuania is both technically and legally prepared to implement the non-purchase of electricity from this nuclear power plant. However, he acknowledged that in practice it is not yet clear how this would be ensured if Latvia were to purchase electricity from the Astrava nuclear power plant.
“The current methodology legally and practically means that electricity from Russia and Belarus should not be traded on the Baltic market. Whether such a scenario will be possible in practical life is an open question for me. As a result, these negotiations are underway on a consensus. on the options that should exist for the Baltic states to exchange electricity with Russia, before synchronization, but not with Belarus, “said Ž. Vaičiūnas.
Negotiations are currently underway to prevent Latvia and Estonia from purchasing electricity from the Astrava nuclear power plant.
No effect on timing at this stage
The minister assured that the process of synchronizing the electricity system with the European networks is progressing as planned.
“There are several stages. The last stage is 2025. at the end with Harmony Link. There are all the other preparations required to have a pre-sync besides this Harmony Link project.
Our system is also prepared for isolated system operation, if necessary, to ensure preparedness for various potential threats. This weekend another functional test of the isolated partial system was carried out.
There is no effect of the physical launch of Astrava on timing at this stage, “said Ž. Vaičiūnas.
Some municipalities take time to prepare
After the meeting, Darius Kuliešius, senior adviser to President Gitanas Nausėda, was unwilling to go into details.
“The committee meeting was classified, so I would not like to comment on the details of the committee meeting. Lithuania is preparing for this possible event. Lithuania’s position will be common. Hopefully clarity, and in the context of that next date will be named, “said D. Kuliešius.
According to the Chief Advisor to the President, the answer to the question about the preparation of municipalities for this process is subjective.
“It just came to our attention then. Personally, I think there is a delay in the proper preparation. For this, the State Defense Council also raised the issue, the evaluations of the plans are carried out after the meeting, and there are specific obligations to finance the acquisition of the missing equipment. We are working in that direction, albeit late, “said D. Kuliešius.
The second part of the NSGC meeting, which is currently taking place, is dedicated to civil protection.
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