VILNIUS, 15 Sep. The Lithuanian operator of the electricity transmission system Litgrid unilaterally from Wednesday limited the maximum technical capacity of the power grids between Lithuania and Belarus in order to reduce the flow of electricity from BelNPP to the Baltic market, Sputnik Lithuania reports. The Lithuanian Energy Regulatory Authority (VERT) approved new rules for the transmission capacity of electricity from Belarus to the Baltic republic. It was noted that the change in the technical capacity of the connections guarantees that the power transmission lines (PTL) of Lithuania «will not be used for trade in electricity produced in Belarus» at the BelNPP. According to Sputnik, Vilnius already restricted electricity imports from Belarus last year, halting direct commercial flows of electricity through the Lithuanian-Belarusian section on November 3, when the BelNPP began generating electricity. However, until July 12, when the first unit of the nuclear power plant was temporarily disconnected from the power system, electricity produced in Belarus was still supplied to the Baltic market. According to Litgrid, the new methodology will limit these possibilities.
Lukashenko urged «not to steam» because of the export of energy from nuclear power plants «On Wednesday, on the first day of the application of the new method, the maximum transmission capacity of 262 megawatts of electricity from Belarus to Lithuania was set. The new methodology ensures that the electricity required to ensure the reliability of the power system, At the same time, the import of electricity generated in Ostrovets to Lithuania will be limited. According to the new methodology, the capacity will be calculated every day to ensure stable and reliable operation of the electricity system, «the agency quotes Litgrid CEO Rokas Masiulis as saying According to Masiulis, depending on the maximum throughput of electricity from Belarus to Lithuania, commercial or other net throughput from Russia to Latvia will be determined. Lithuania has always been the main opponent of the construction of the BelNPP. The authorities of the republic have criticized the future Belarusian power plant almost from the moment Minsk made a decision to build it and are initiating a ban on the import of Belarusian electricity to the EU. The parliament of this country previously ruled that the power plant poses a threat to its national security. BelNPP is the largest Russian-Belarusian economic project, the general contractor of its construction is Atomstroyexport (part of Rosatom). For BelNPP, a Russian NPP design with VVER-1200 generation 3+ reactors was chosen, which meets the highest international reliability and safety requirements. In early June, the Belarusian NPP was issued a license to operate the first power unit. On June 10, the Ministry of Energy of Belarus reported that the acceptance committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov signed an act of acceptance into operation of the start-up complex of the first unit of the BelNPP. The commissioning of the second power unit is scheduled for 2022.
«Paranoia at the limit.» Baltic states refuse from Russian energy
