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Heorhi Lepin: Belnpp Issue Has Long Been Politicized

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Heorhi Lepin: Belnpp Issue Has Long Been Politicized
HEORHI LEPIN
PHOTO: GREENBELARUS.INFO

Russia wants to have additional levers allowing to press on Belarus.

Professor Heorhi Lepin, who participated in the elimination of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, told Radio Racyja who politicized the construction of Belarusian NPP:

– On the anniversary of Chernobyl, one cannot help but mention the nuclear power plant, which is being built in Belarus. Our leaders say that the construction is politicized. Excuse me, but this issue has long been politicized. When Ignalina NPP operated in Lithuania, Russia could use that plant as a lever of influence on the Baltic.

When the Ignalina NPP was closed, these levers were lost, and they had to be restored. Therefore, Russia decided to build two nuclear power plants: one in the Kaliningrad region, and the other in Belarus. The stations had to be absolutely similar.

And then the Baltic countries said they would not buy electricity from the new nuclear power plants. And they would not even be able to buy it, since Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are members of the European Union. They are included in the common European energy supply system. Power networks, frequency variations, etc. are different in Europe and Belarus. It's possible, of course, to "adapt" Belarusian or Russian electricity to European standards, but this is a very difficult task, which, moreover, requires additional expenditures.

Therefore, when Russia learned that the Baltic countries would not buy their electricity, it ceased construction of the nuclear power plant in Kaliningrad. And Belarus pretended that nothing had happened.

– But the authorities expect, probably, a certain economic effect?

At some point, Belarus bought electricity in Lithuania at 2.5 cents per kWh. And it was actually very cheap. Perhaps, even now Belarusian leaders think that Belarusian electricity will be as cheap as at Ignalina.

But this is self-deception. When the Ignalina NPP became the property of Lithuania, it cost them essentially free of charge. Lithuanians used the station, spending money only on personnel and fuel. That's why they used to sell electricity to Belarus cheaply.

In addition, the station could not operate at low power, and therefore the electricity could be given even free of charge to Belarus, just to load the nuclear power plant. But it’s a completely different situation in the case of the Belarusian NPP. And the authorities must understand this.

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