Customs Union common electricity market by 1 January 2015

MINSK, 27 November (BelTA) – A common electricity market of the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space member states will be created by 1 January 2015. The information was released by Mr Danial Akhmetov, Minister for Energy and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission, after the first session of the Advisory Committee for Electric Power Industry under the Eurasian Economic Commission. Danial Akhmetov chaired the session, BelTA has learned.

According to Danial Akhmetov, the best specialists from Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia have been invited to get involved in forming the common energy market, therefore, the work can be done rather fast. “We believe it will be done by 1 January 2015,” said Danial Akhmetov.

The Committee discussed the development of the concept and main regulations of the program to create the common electricity market. The Committee also discussed the specification of requirements to develop the draft concept for forming the common electricity market in the Single Economic Space.

The Eurasian Economic Commission will prepare the concept for forming the common electricity market soon. “The concept will be used to work out and adopt a serious program document, which we believe will allow shaping the common electricity market of the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space in the near future,” said the Minister. In his words, the common market will rely on free access to the infrastructure, a harmonized legal base, new technological norms and standards.

Danial Akhmetov said: “We believe that a wholesale market will be one of the main segments of the future structure of the common market. The structure will also include markets for centralized sales, core and auxiliary services and a balancing market,” said the official. The Eurasian Economic Commission will put together a balanced program for the development of the common electricity market of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. “After the program is adopted, national strategies for the development of the power engineering industries of the Customs Union and Single Economic Space countries will be synchronized to a sufficient degree and will also have progressive goals,” explained Danial Akhmetov. The common market will allow accomplishing unique tasks to raise the effectiveness of the energy industries of the three countries. “So far the effectiveness factor of the generating installations in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia stands at about 60%. It means that the common market can considerably raise the figure,” said Danial Akhmetov.

The session of the advisory committee gathered representatives of the Energy Ministry of Belarus, the Industry and New Technologies Ministry of Kazakhstan, the Energy Ministry of Russia, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, the Federal Tariff Service of Russia, and representatives of major energy companies of the Customs Union states.

According to the Eurasian Economic Commission, a common electricity market of the Single Economic Space member states has to secure the sustainable growth of the national economies and the energy security of the countries, protect interests of customers and producers of electricity, raise the economic effectiveness and the reliability of the power engineering complex, optimize the effectiveness of using primary energy resources, and expand the export potential of the countries that does not involve raw materials.