Sergey Kondratiev, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of the Institute for Energy and Finance gave comments to the radio station «Sputnik Liеtuva» on the prospects for importing electricity to Lithuania:
In an interview with Sputnik Lithuania, an expert from the Institute of Energy and Finance, Sergei Kondratyev, noted that Lithuania will be able to isolate itself from Belarusian electricity only if it disconnects from the energy system with Latvia, which is technically impossible and could lead to a crisis in the Baltics.
«If we talk about alternatives, then they are all quite expensive. This is an opportunity to increase the import of electricity from Poland or Sweden through the already laid interconnectors and power lines. But electricity in these markets is now much more expensive than in Belarus or Russia. This is not a few percent or tens of percent, this is, one and a half times or more. This, of course, will affect the end consumers, primarily industrial enterprises, and in fact, the population," he said.
The Baltic republic can use its own thermal power plants as an alternative, Kondratiev suggested. However, according to him, in this case, the country will have to increase gas imports, which is also not cheap.
«As such, there is no cheap and reliable alternative to supplies from the BRELL power system in Lithuania now and it is not expected in the next few years," the expert concluded.
Kondratyev also recalled that Lithuania is one of the European leaders in terms of the cost of electricity.
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