Sekmokas: Lithuania to become a bridge for electricity at the Astravo nuclear power plant

“Until now, Lithuania’s position, perhaps a fragmented position, has been to seek in the European Union that the electricity produced at the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Astrava does not flow into the European Union.” According to the proposed statement prepared by the Ministry of Energy, Astravo, apparently not only Astravo, electricity enters the European Union market through Lithuania, that is, the Latvian market, “said A. Sekmokas to BNS.

According to him, after the start of the operation of the Astravas nuclear power plant, Lithuania will not allow electricity trade with this country, but this does not mean that technically the electricity from the nuclear power plant will not enter Lithuania through Latvia, and even then to the EU common market and back to Lithuania.

“There is no bandwidth for commercial traffic, that is, for the purchase of electricity. It may be zero, but the technical flow to which it will go is indicated in the statement and noted by the Ministry of Energy. It is the flow of electricity that brings electricity to the European Union market, and after that, all participants in the European Union can buy that electricity on the market (…) Technical flows exclude commercial flows that are they sell on the market, ”said the former Conservative Minister of Energy.

“Lithuania is becoming a bridge to sell Astravas electricity in the European Union. As a bridge, Lithuania transfers electricity from the Astrava nuclear power plant to the market, it will automatically buy that electricity …”, he explained.

According to A. Sekmokas, if the joint decision of the three Baltic States not to purchase electricity from the Astrava nuclear power plant had been reached, the situation would have been different.

“So Latvia, Estonia, if there were certificates that it was electricity that came from Belarus, then that electricity would not really be sold on the market. The cash flow would not travel to Belarus,” said the former energy minister.

“Lithuania really guarantees financial flows from which the second, third and fourth subsequent units of the Astravas power plant would be built. That is, Lithuania is paving the way for Astrava’s nuclear electricity trade and its additional financing,” stated A. Sekmokas.

He stressed that, in this case, the so-called “anti-Astrava law” could not guarantee that Belarusian electricity would not enter the Baltic market; It prohibited Lithuania from buying Belarusian electricity, but did not say whether that electricity would be purchased at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border or in Latvia.

“The law states that electricity produced in Belarus should not be bought, Lithuania should not buy (…) If that electricity is only sold on the Baltic market, it is automatic, because Lithuania imports up to 80 percent. Electricity: that would bring automatically that Astrava electricity to Lithuania, ”explained A. Sekmokas.

The government will have to decide whether to accept the compromise

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius stated that the joint agreement between the Baltic States proposed by the Ministry of Energy was not in Lithuania’s interest. He vows to urge the government to reject the proposal by Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, because the compromise, when the three Baltic states would take a different position on the purchase of electricity from Astrava, “should be unacceptable”.

On Wednesday, the government will consider a joint agreement between the Baltic countries on electricity trade with third countries until 2025, when the Baltic power grids will be synchronized with European grids.

Ž. Vaičiūnas says the agreement would allow Lithuania to implement the law and not buy electricity from Belarus: “Our position remains consistent, clear and unchangeable: Belarusian electricity trade will not take place in Lithuania and our infrastructure will not be used. That is the purpose of this agreement. “

The Ministry announced that the new methodology would apply as soon as Lithuania prohibits trade through Lithuanian-Belarusian connections, after the start of operation of the Astrava nuclear power plant, and will be valid temporarily, until 2025.

It is planned to introduce a system of certificates of origin: it will allow to identify the origin of imported electricity to prevent Belarusian electricity from entering Lithuania, as well as a new infrastructure tax so that the costs of using electricity grids for imports are reimbursed fairly and therefore imported electricity is taxed.

According to the tripartite trade methodology with third countries approved in 2012, trade in the Baltic States is carried out only through Lithuania, but will cease to be valid when the Astravo nuclear power plant starts operating. Neither Latvia nor Estonia have direct electricity connections with Belarus.

The material submitted to the Seimas European Affairs Commission states that the main difference between the version of the political declaration signed by Lithuania and Estonia in February and the latest version (May 27) is that, instead of Baltic solidarity, it does not buy Belarusian electricity. third country origin guarantee system.

If the Baltic States reach a common regional solution, the partners will recognize Lithuania’s decision not to buy electricity; otherwise the Baltic States and the European Commission will not support Lithuania.

In the first case, the maximum total possible amount of electricity from third countries on the Baltic market would decrease; in the second case, Latvia and Estonia would approve a bilateral methodology for trade with third countries.

If a common agreement were reached, the Baltic States would obtain the political support of the EC, which is important for network synchronization, for which a maximum of 75% could be expected. financing, there is a high risk of not receiving financing if an agreement is not reached at that time.

The document states that reaching a regional agreement would provide more clarity to participants in the electricity market, reducing the risk of litigation. Otherwise, Poland’s approach to synchronization could change “when the fragmentation of the Baltic States and their inability to control the issue of electricity trade with third countries is demonstrated.”