Government prevents Belarusian Astravyez NPP electricity from entering Latvia / Article / LSM.lv

The government bans electricity from the Astravjec NPP from entering LatviaCynthia Ambote00:00 / 04:07

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The government has supported amendments to the rules on trade and use of electricity to control the origin of electricity imported from Russia.

Edijs Šaicāns, Director of the Energy Market and Infrastructure Department of the Ministry of Economics (EM), points out that the Russian authority will have to certify that the electricity it imports is indeed generated in Russia

Electricity generation at the Astravjec NPP near the Lithuanian border began on Tuesday, November 3. The Astravjec NPP is considered unsafe to comply with international nuclear safety standards.

The MoE explained that the mechanism of proof of origin of electricity will not burden energy traders. However, the origin will have to be verified by the electricity transmission system operator –

“High Voltage Network”, whose board member Gatis Junghāns assessed that the mechanism would not have a significant impact on the operator’s functions, as well as did not predict a significant impact on prices.

“We have negotiated with Russia’s energy company the possibility of issuing such a certificate. The Russian energy company is ready to provide such a certificate. Therefore, this solution is currently considered sufficient. If there is reason to believe in the future that such a solution still does not ensure market, we will probably look at additional measures to strengthen this, “Junghan said

The methodology that will prevent electricity generated in Belarus from entering Latvia was approved last week by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

“There was co – operation between the operators, where the operators agreed on a common methodology, and then three respectively [Baltijas] “This methodology must be approved by national regulators,” said Rolands Irklis, head of PUC.

According to him, the certificates must be issued in accordance with Russian legislation. “Russia is not part of the European Union. Because we will have to rely to a large extent on what Russia declares. This is primarily a matter for the operators.”

Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator Litgrid announced on Tuesday, November 3, that Belarus has started generating electricity at the Astravjec nuclear power plant built near the Lithuanian border. This means that the said regulation has entered into force in Latvia.

Currently, the Baltic States receive about 16% of total electricity imports from Russia and Belarus.

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