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22.12.2011

Nuclear station to allow Belarus to stop importing electricity

MINSK, 22 December (BelTA) – Once the nuclear power plant is up and running, Belarus will be able to stop importing electricity, Academician Alexander Mikhalevich, Deputy Academic Secretary of the Physics and Technology Sciences Department of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, told a press conference on 22 December.

Belarus has been importing as much as 10-30% of the amount of electricity the country needs since mid-1990s. The country uses slightly more than 60% of its electrical installations on a coldest and most energy-intensive day.

While the country has an excessive power-generating capacity, almost half of Belarusian power plants were built in the 1960s – early 1970s. It is now more expensive to use them to generate electricity than to import electricity abroad. The main suppliers of electricity are Russia and Ukraine. Alexander Mikhalevich believes that the commissioning of the nuclear power plant will satisfy the domestic demand and enable the country to export some electricity.