The electricity prices are expected to rise from the unification of the energy markets of Russia and Belarus

Sergey Kondratiev, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Nakanune.ru on the creation of the united energy market in Russia and Belarus.

The creation of the united market, of course, is beneficial for the Belarusian side, especially if it functions according to Russian rules. However, Sergey Kondratiev is not sure that the principles of the joint market will be spelled out in detail in the agreement and, most likely, the ministries of energy of Russia and the Republic of Belarus will have to prepare and submit the necessary regulatory legal acts.

"There are a number of key questions, in my opinion. Firstly, will Russian suppliers get access to end consumers in Belarus (and vice versa), will they be able to conclude supply contracts. Will non-discriminatory access conditions be created for participants from Russia in terms of the transmission tariff, the provision of subsidies. The second is participation in the capacity market. Will Belenergo get the right to participate in the Russian capacity market and how will the balances be calculated in this case? I think that this is one of the main goals of the Belarusian side", - Sergey Kondratiev thinks.

According to him, with a high probability, the Russian and Belarusian markets will continue to operate in the current mode, the new agreement may create conditions for increasing the supply of electricity from Belarus to Russia, but without participation in the capacity market, we are unlikely to see a serious increase in imports from Belarus.