Minsk, November 19 - Neftegaz.RU. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko set a task to achieve complete energy independence and energy security in Belarus at a session to discuss ways to improve Belarus' energy sector management, BelTa has learned.
«The government should elaborate a forecast for the country's energy balance and set a task to achieve complete energy independence and security,» the Belarusian leader said.
Alexander Lukashenko noted that Belarus' energy system is one of the most complicated economic sectors, but it is of extraordinary importance for the domestic economy. «Its stability is paramount for the security and independence of the state,» he emphasized.
According to the president, a lot of money was injected into the energy sector to help it get better: over $1 billion was invested in the sector over the past 5 years alone. That allowed Belarus to get ahead of the curve in the CIS in terms of fuel consumption per 1KW of electric energy.
Consumption of imported fuel has shrunk by 3 billion m3 of gas in equivalent. «This amounts to about $600 million per year,» the head of state noted. Domestic production of electric energy expanded by 2.1 billion KW. «By the way, in 2018 we stopped importing electric energy, which happened for the 1st time,» the Belarusian leader said.
«As I was told on several occasions, Belarus' energy system is one of the most reliable and efficient energy systems on the post-Soviet space, and it is also on par with a number of European countries. However, despite these successes, there are a number of shortcomings in the operation of our energy industry. It is high time we decide what should be done to remove existing drawbacks and increase the efficiency of the entire energy system.
Many experts believe that the industry has economic, technological and managerial reserves to come up with a clear-cut action plan,» Alexander Lukashenko said.
The head of state emphasized that no experiments will be undertaken in this regard. «We have no unclear matters that would make us want to experiment. Everything is clear. The number one task is preventing any setbacks and building on our success without putting the matter on the back burner. We also need to take into consideration international energy trends and to adopt best practices and learn from mistakes, 1st of all of our neighbors,» the president noted.
Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that the ultimate goal is streamlining the energy system, cutting unnecessary costs, as well as ensuring fair, transparent and competitive rate setting. Other areas of focus include raising investment and implementing cutting-edge technology.
The president asked the participants of the meeting who will deliver their reports to answer a number of questions. 1st, what are the drawbacks of Belarus' energy system today? 2nd, what does the government suggest doing in order to streamline this sector and how much time will it take? Are there any associated risks and how will they be minimized?
«The 3rd and the most important thing – what will be the effect of the suggested improvements for the energy system, domestic economy and our people?» the head of state asked. Apart from that, the president wanted to know how people in charge will approach the country's future energy balance.
