Skip to main content

Belarus looks to expand electricity market Rules

On 28 February and 1 March 2018, the Energy Charter Secretariat conducted the first of three capacity-building workshops on electricity market rules in Minsk, Belarus. Staff from the Ministry of Energy and state energy companies, including Belenergo, participated in the interactive training sessions. 

Belarus is currently considering reforms to develop its electricity market including defining the roles and responsibilities of market actors.  The Secretariat has been working with representatives of the Belarusian electricity sector to help refine the market rules in line with the EU best practices. 

The roundtable discussions addressed topics such as the delineation of wholesale and retail markets for generators and suppliers, cost-reflective tariff structures, grid codes for connecting to networks and real-time operations such as dispatching electricity to the market. The fundamental issue is how to efficiently organise Belarus’s electricity sector in light of the anticipated over-capacity in the near future. 

“We highly value the support provided by the Energy Charter Secretariat in the context of EU4Energy, which is based on best international and European practices,” said Ms Olga Matsko, consultant to the Department of Strategic Development and Internal Investment Cooperation of the Ministry of Energy. “Today’s training seminar on support for preparing secondary legislation in the context of the Law on Electricity is very relevant and timely concerning planned measures for improving the organisational structure of the electricity sector, tariff-structuring systems, establishing electricity markets and so forth.”     

EU4Energy is a European Union Initiative whose objective is to provide support to Eastern Partnership countries in promoting energy market reforms, energy security and sustainable energy. Sharing best EU practices, EU4Energy also takes into account the specific contexts of partner countries. The Secretariat is an implementing partner responsible for delivering technical assistance to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. Other areas of work with Belarus have included the enhancement of its climate for investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.