The Russian Ministry of Energy named the stages of formation of a unified energy market with Belarus
The Russian Ministry of Energy has outlined the stages of forming a unified energy market with Belarus. The Ministry of Energy of Belarus named the opportunities that the unification of the electricity market with Russia will provide.
The Russian Ministry of Energy told TASS that the draft agreement on the formation of a unified electricity market of the Union State was approved by decree of the President of Belarus and passed internal approval in Russia,. The department clarified that the agreement provides for the phased formation of a unified energy market.
“At the initial stage, trade will be carried out between legal entities determined by the parties. Subsequently, taking into account integration in the gas sector, including regarding the procedure for setting tariffs for the supply of natural gas to Belarus from Russia, deeper integration in the electricity sector is envisaged. In particular, it will provide for the trade in electrical energy, as well as the organization of a unified technological process for operational dispatch control,” the ministry noted.
In turn, Energy Minister of Belarus Viktor Karankevich also said that Moscow and Minsk have prepared an agreement on the formation of a unified electricity market and are developing rules for its functioning. According to him, the common market creates additional opportunities for strengthening the relationship between the power systems of the two countries and developing the electrical grid infrastructure. “All this will ultimately ensure increased reliability of power supply to consumers and improved quality of life for our citizens,” Karankevich emphasized.
The head of the department added that work also continues on unified principles for the functioning and regulation of the unified gas market. He confirmed that the position of the parties is that the processes of forming unified markets for electricity and gas should be interconnected.
Previously, Russia and Belarus moved up the launch date for the unified electricity market, which was scheduled for January 1, 2024. At the same time, the Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Dmitry Krutoy said that the agreement on the unified electricity market of the Union State is already working without formal signing. From 2025, the unified electricity market should be synchronized with the work of the EAEU electricity market, and from 2027, deeper integration is envisaged with an expansion of the subject composition of market participants.