Itar-Tass quoted an official at the Russian electricity export-import operator Inter RAO UES said Russia electricity transit to the Baltic States through Belarus will amount to about 3 billion kilowatt-hours in 2010.

The official said “The transit agreement with Belenergo envisions planned capacities and quantitative indicators for Inter RAO UES electricity transit through the Belarusian national power grid.”

The official said “In the conditions of Lithuania Ignalina NPP shutdown and the need to guarantee stable electricity supplies to the member countries of the BRELL Electrical Ring, roughly 3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity can be transited through the Belarusian power grid.”

The official said about 60% of electricity is transmitted by Russia to the Baltic States through the Belarusian national power grid. The remaining 40% of electricity are supplied by Russia directly to the Baltic States through the Russia-Estonia and Russia-Latvia electric transmission lines bypassing the Belarusian national power grid.”

The official said “The above mentioned conditions can guarantee the necessary volume of Russia’s electricity supplies to the BRELL Electrical Ring under Inter RAO UES contracts.”

The company’s experts believe that the increase in Russia’s electrical transit through the Belarusian power grid will allow Belenergo to increase its incomes from the transit services as compared to 2009.

The BRELL Electrical Ring project unites Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The Electrical Ring links power grids of the five aforesaid countries. Taking into account the fact that the Electrical Ring is still being formed, it is impossible to plan and influence regimes, routes and volumes of transit flows, the official said, adding, “The parties will pay for the real regimes of import and transit of electricity.”

The company’s official recalled that at the end of last week Inter RAO UES and Belarusian energy company Belenergo signed supplementary documents for 2010 in the format of the long-term agreements on the supply of electricity from Russia to Belarus and electricity transit through the Belarusian national power grids.

According to the official, “the signed addendums for 2010 are based on the maintenance of mutual interests and correspond to the spirit of the long-term agreements signed earlier and the plan of interaction between Inter RAO UES and Belenergo.”

The official reaffirmed that since 2009, the two countries have implemented the long-term plan of interaction at the interstate level and in the format of the Union State’s fuel and energy balance,

The official at the Russian energy company said the aforesaid program of interaction envisions long term complementary agreements on the supply and transit of electricity through the Belarusian power grids.

The official said under the documents, Inter RAO UES supplies three billion kilowatt-hours in compliance with the Union State’s energy balance adding that the sides should coordinate prices and schedule of the supplies. In addition, Russia may supply up to 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity on the basis of the commercial principles in the format of a monthly coordination of prices and volumes of electricity.

(Sourced from Itar-Tass)