Deputy Minister of Energy: Lukashenka's Order Is Impossible to Fulfill

An official confessed that the Ministry would not be able to reduce the cost price by 25% as it had been ordered by the ruler.

It will be hard for Belarusian energy enterprises to cut costs by 25% as Decree No. 78 on social and economic development implies. Deputy Minister of Energy Vadzim Zakreuski stated that on May 18 at the Forum for the petrochemical sector and oil and gas sector of CIS countries organized by SAP Company in Minsk, BelaPAN reports.

"One of paragraphs mentions cost squeeze by 25%. Frankly speaking, I can't imagine how to do it considering that fuel-consumption rate for production of our goods, as well as for heating sector, is the lowest in the post-Soviet region. Therefore, few things can be optimized, of course, it will not make 25%," the deputy minister celebrated.

According to Zakreuski, Belarus has minimized losses in energy networks.

"If mention the sector optimization, we mean the optimization of number of employees. It is possible due to industrial process automation, the representative of the Energy Department added. - New staff may not know how a turbine or kettle works, because they see the process on their screens on a real-time basis."

It should be reminded that Decree No. 78 "Measures on Improvement of Efficiency of Socio-Economic Complex of the Republic of Belarus" was signed by Lukashenka on February 23. Inter alia, the document orders the management of state enterprises to reduce production costs not less than by 25%.

"I'd like to stress that state enterprises are given a task to reduce production costs not less than by 25%. And it must be carried out", Lukashenka stated while his address to "the parliament" and the people on April 21.