English

Russia to halt electricity deliveries to Belarus

Russia will cut off electricity deliveries to Belarus at 00:00 a.m. on June 29 for its failure to pay a $43-million debt, said a spokesperson for the Inter RAO electricity exporter on Tuesday morning, BelaPAN said.

“The due payment for electricity had not been made before 8:30 a.m. on June 28,” the spokesperson told Russia’s news agency RIA Novosti. “In this respect… we will fully halt electricity deliveries to Belarus at 00:00 a.m. (Moscow time) on June 29. We expect our Belarusian partners to settle the debt and make the next payment in full.”

On June 21, Inter RAO gave Belarus until June 27 to pay the funds owed for deliveries in April and May, threatening to suspend electricity exports to the country.

The suspension will be in line with the Russian supplier`s contract and supplementary agreements with Belarus` national power utility DVA Belenerha, said an Inter RAO spokesperson. "A trading company cannot supply electricity on credit."

Speaking in St. Petersburg two days later, Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich said that Belarus would repay in full its debt to Inter RAO until June 28.

On June 9, Inter RAO cut in half electricity exports to Belarus because of its failure to pay $54 million in outstanding bills for deliveries in March and April.

Following talks held the next day by Belenerha Director General Alyaksey Shyrma in Moscow, Inter RAO fully restored the export of electricity to Belarus on June 13.

Belenerha paid the first installment of the debt later that week.

Under a contract with Inter RAO, Belenerha is to buy from it three billion kilowatts of electricity this year.