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Council of Ministers to submit proposals for decreasing dependence on Russian gas

The government’s proposals for decreasing Belarus’ dependence on Russian natural gas will be submitted at the beginning of next week, First Deputy Prime Minister Uladzimir Syamashka told Alyaksandr Lukashenka on Saturday while accompanying him on a visit to the Brest region, BelaPAN reports.

According to Mr. Syamashka, the government considers it possible to reduce the share of natural gas in the national energy mix from 94 percent at present to 55 percent in 2020.

This will be achieved through the construction of a nuclear power plant, hydroelectric power stations, steam power plants burning local fuels, and wind farms, he said. These measures will help reduce Belarus’ annual import of natural gas by up to eight billion cubic meters, Mr. Syamashka noted.

One of the measures will be the Council of Ministers’ program that provides for the construction between 2010 and 2015 of 161 small power plants burning local fuels, with 26 of them being mini heat and power plants, said Mr. Syamashka.