The energy challenge facing the Republic of Belarus

Belarus has a plethora of energy–related problems which had their origin in the cheap oil days of the former USSR. These problems include inefficient and energy–intensiveindustrial plants, few methods of conserving energy, no pricing strategiesfor increasing the efficient utilisation of the electric generatingsystem, dependency on Russian oil, virtually no domestic source of conventional fuel and no plans for developing alternative energysources and an ageing electric generatingcapacity. The solution to these problems is made more difficult by a depressed Belorussian economy which limits the ability of government to finance needed energy projects. At present, a prolonged downturn in the economy has masked a projected power outage. Assuming that the economy will recover, a substantial power outage will occur and measures need to be taken now to lessen the effect. The authors indicate that a piecemeal approach will not work, and they set forth a comprehensive planto deal with the problems.