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After Lithuania promised not to leave electricity from the Astrava nuclear power plant, Belarusian authorities turned to Russia in the hope that it would buy electricity through Inter RAO. The Baltic market for this company is the third largest, through which Russian electricity flows to the markets of three countries.
Russian electricity from Inter RAO started flowing to Latvia on Thursday. It is true that experts doubt that the company would risk selling Belarusian electricity in the Baltic countries; you could lose your licenses.
The goal is to find a window for Belarusian electricity
Meeting in September, the prime ministers of Russia and Belarus, Mikhail Mishustin and Roman Golovchenko, discussed how Russia could help Belarusians realize the power of the Astrava nuclear power plant. It was agreed at the highest level, but the technical details were left to the ministries.
Reuters / Photo by Scanpix / Astravo Nuclear Power Plant
In early autumn, it seemed that the Belarusian side would manage to reach an agreement with the Russian side to allow Astrava’s electricity to enter Europe through it. One option is for the Astrava nuclear power plant to supply power to Russia, and Russia’s Inter RAO’s concern is to increase its exports to Europe.
It is true that experts questioned whether Inter RAO’s relationship with such a transaction was a formal agreement, if any, and it was not made public.
It is true that the company itself has recognized that when the Baltic countries start to boycott Belarusian electricity, Inter RAO will be ready to supply Belarusian electricity to Europe.
“If you ban electricity from Belarus, it would be right to keep the flows from Russia. We are even ready to offer green energy,” Aleksandra Panina, Inter RAO’s head of sales, told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
Required evidence
There is no evidence yet that Inter RAO is trying to circumvent the ban. It is true that last Thursday Latvia began to trade electricity with Russia through the Latvia-Russia connection.
This was confirmed by BNS by the Lithuanian electricity transmission company Litgrid, and the electricity flows from Russia can also be seen on the website of the Latvian operator AST.
Inter RAO representatives 15 minutes confirmed that Russian electricity Inter RAO had entered Latvia. However, it is negative that the company was able to reach an agreement with the Belarusians on electricity from Astravas: Inter RAO has its own power plants in Russia, which also sells energy to the Baltic countries. Rosatom, which built the Astrava nuclear power plant, is essentially a competitor to Inter RAO, which produces electricity in gas-fired power plants.
Furthermore, Russia will need to confirm that the electricity exported to Latvia is not produced in Belarus. According to the Belarusian Naviny, the Latvian authorities have already requested information from the Russian operator and have received assurances that the electricity was actually produced in Russia.
Russians don’t burn with desire
Rytas Staselis, an expert from the Lithuanian National Energy Association, believes that there is a theoretical possibility of an agreement between Inter RAO and the Belarusians.
“But in Russia itself there are not many people who want that Belarusian electricity. The Russians have their own energy business and the Baltic market, Inter RAO, is the third largest market. Therefore, I think they would not want to take risks “, 15 minutes said the analyst.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Morning Staselis
True, he recalled that Inter RAO, just before the construction of the Astrava power plant, offered the Belarusians to sell electricity together, but they did not agree.
“Now it is becoming difficult for Belarusians, and they are looking everywhere for someone to sell to and where to help,” Staselis added.
In addition, Inter RAO and the Belarusians had even created a joint energy company, but later the company will buy all the shares; the joint project failed.
True, he did not rule out the possibility that the electricity to Latvia was as an attempt to test how the Baltic countries would react. The first reaction did not have to wait long: Conservatives were outraged that Latvia was violating the agreements.
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