Belarus to be able to supply electricity from BelNPP to Russia - State Duma committee chair

MINSK. March 16 (Interfax) - Belarus will be able to start supplying electricity from the BelNPP to the Russian energy grid in 2024, said Pavel Zavalny, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy.

"It will be possible to supply electricity from BelNPP to the Russian market starting next year," Zavalny said in a video commentary made available by the Belarusian Energy Ministry's press service during his visit to Minsk on Thursday.

Supplies of electricity from Belarus to Russia are planned within the framework of the two countries' common energy market, he said.

Belarus is about to complete the construction of a nuclear power plant near Ostrovets in Hrodna region consistent with the Russian VVER-1200 project. It will consist of two power units with a capacity of 1.2 GW each. The general contractor of NPP construction is the ASE group of Rosatom State Corporation. A $10 billion Russian state loan was raised to finance the construction of the NPP.

The BelNPP's first power unit has generated more than 12.5 billion kWh of electricity since it was commissioned [November 2020]. The second unit began its physical startup phase at the end of December 2022 and is scheduled to be commissioned in April and put into commercial operation in October of this year.

Belarus and Russia previously prepared an interstate agreement on the formation of a unified electricity market and the rules of its operation. The documents are currently undergoing internal approval.