Key events
In Belarus, quotas for the development of renewable energy have been set for 2026. The total volume of quotas for the construction of installations using renewable energy sources to be allocated in 2026 will amount to 38.7 MW.
The largest share is assigned to wind energy — 18.186 MW. The structure also includes: biogas — 10 MW; solar energy — 4.861 MW; wood fuel and biomass — 5 MW; hydropower — 0.7 MW.
An analysis of the conditions for the development of renewable energy sources was the main topic of the May issue of the digest.
On May 6, Unit 1 of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant was reconnected to the grid. It had been shut down for scheduled maintenance on January 15, 2026. After that, no information about its restart was available, but on April 27 a report appeared indicating that it had been disconnected from the grid.
It is possible that an abnormal situation occurred during the start-up phase, necessitating the shutdown of the reactor and its disconnection from the grid. The duration of the unit’s maintenance outage totaled 111 days. With such downtime, the maximum annual capacity factor would amount to 70%.
Belarusneft has reduced the well construction cycle. Previously, it took 135–140 days; now construction and commissioning take 45 days.
Expansion of the prospects of the Metelnoye field. On well pad No. 8 of the Metelnae field, the installation and commissioning of a three-phase oil and gas separator (NGS 50×6.3 MPa) have been completed. The new separator makes it possible to separate well production directly on-site into oil, associated gas, and water.
At Naftan OJSC — a maintenance campaign is underway at the Visbreaking–Thermocracking unit. Repairs at the vacuum block of the unit and the Thermocracking block were completed in May, while work at the Visbreaking block was still ongoing by the end of the month. The Visbreaking and Thermocracking blocks are part of the delayed coking unit reserve and are integrated into the plant’s technological chain when needed.
A commercial gas inflow has been obtained at well No. 876 of the Metelnae field. In May, formation BP5/1 was tested at this field in the 2789–2791.5 m interval. The results yielded a commercial gas inflow with a flow rate of 4,500 m³/h, or 108,000 m³/day. As of May 1, the initial recoverable and remaining reserves of the deposit amount to: natural gas — 545/469 million m³; gas condensate — 32/28 thousand tonnes.
A new electric charging station with a capacity of 120 kW has been installed in Babruisk.
From June 1 to 15, drilling-and-blasting seismic exploration will be carried out in the Petrikau district of the Gomel region near the villages of Klyasаu and Zabrodze.
Statistics and data
Belarusneft drilled five new wells in April. Three wells were drilled at the Rechica field, and one each at the Severa-Damanovichy and Vishanskae areas.
Crews from the rig installation department delivered three completed drilling rigs to oil producers and prepared four new sites.
As of May 20, 2026, Resolution No. 29 of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade dated May 7, 2026, came into force. The document revises the price of liquefied gas in cylinders. The new price is 1.73 rubles per kg (previously 1.62 rubles). The cost of refilling cylinders is as follows: 5 liters (2.0 kg) — 3.46 rubles; 12 liters (5.0 kg) — 8.65 rubles; 27 liters (11.4 kg) — 19.72 rubles. The price for 50‑liter gas cylinders remains unchanged.
The total capacity of the electric vehicle charging network exceeds 80 MW.
A quota distribution for the import of electric vehicles for 2026 has been established. The number of motor vehicles with electric engines imported in 2026 under the preferential quota must not exceed: 13,800 units for legal entities and 6,200 units for individuals.
In Belarus, the current heating season lasted 220 days. The peak load on the power system exceeded 7,300 MW for the first time in the history of the independent state. The duration of the heating period increased significantly compared to last year, when it totaled 205 days.
From June 1, utility tariffs in Belarus are increasing: heat energy — by 7.3% (to 29.2224 rubles per Gcal), and electricity for heating — also by 7.3% (to 48.7 rubles per 1,000 kWh). The average utility bill will rise by approximately 3.12 rubles, including: 2.6 rubles for heating and 0.53 rubles for hot water supply.
Resolution No. 229 of the Council of Ministers dated May 7, 2026, provides for an increase in export duties on liquefied hydrocarbons, ethane, butane, and isobutane. Tariffs on liquefied hydrocarbons are rising from 5.2 to 131.6 US dollars per tonne, and on ethane, butane, and isobutane from 4.6 to 118.4 US dollars per tonne (approximately a 25-fold increase). The previous tariffs had been set a month earlier, and before that export duties had been zero.
These changes correlate with adjustments to export duties applied in Russia and eliminate various schemes for exporting liquefied hydrocarbons via Belarus. Export duties in Russia are set monthly depending on the export price of LPG.
Statements
“About 12% of Belarusneft’s oil production in Belarus comes from Damanik deposits. The oil extracted from them is classified as hard-to-recover reserves (HRR), and its share will steadily increase,” said Pyotr Povzhik, Deputy Director General for Geology at Belarusneft.
Topic of the issue: Operating conditions for renewable energy sources in Belarus
On May 6, 2026, it was announced that Unit 1 had been reconnected to the grid after a scheduled maintenance outage that lasted 111 days. By that time, each reactor had already been shut down for scheduled maintenance more than once. We analyzed previous scheduled preventive maintenance (SPM), their duration, and the operating periods between them.
The “operation–maintenance” cycle is referred to as “campaigns.” Thus, over the period of operation to date, Unit 1 has undergone four campaigns, and Unit 2 has completed two.
The first campaign of Unit 1 was accompanied by unplanned outages and a lengthy scheduled preventive maintenance period, which likely included the replacement of the turbine generator.
Subsequently, operation became more reliable; nevertheless, the average duration of scheduled preventive maintenance remains about 80 days.
Unit 2 demonstrated more reliable performance immediately after commissioning, and its first maintenance outage lasted 80 days. During the second campaign, there was an unplanned shutdown lasting 36 days. Excluding this, the maintenance duration amounted to 58 days.
For comparison, maintenance durations at similar units in Russia can be cited. For example, in 2025, maintenance at Unit 6 of the Novovoronezh NPP (commissioned in 2016) lasted 35 days. A scheduled standard maintenance operation in 2026 (including metal condition inspection and generator rotor replacement) lasted 60 days.
The capacity factor of the power units remains at approximately 77–82%. Only during the third campaign of Unit 1 did it reach 87%. At the same time, according to the plant’s planned technical and economic indicators, the average capacity factor was expected to be around 90%.
A decrease in the capacity factor by 10 percentage points leads to a reduction in generation at each unit by approximately 1 billion kWh. If the average share of fixed costs for an NPP is about 80% (capital costs and fixed operating costs), then with reduced generation a significant portion of costs is spread over a smaller volume of produced electricity, which significantly increases the cost per unit of output. In the case of the Belarusian NPP, a reduction in generation of 2 billion kWh across both units leads to an increase in electricity costs of approximately 10%.
The reasons for such prolonged maintenance outages at the Belarusian NPP units remain unclear, but this negatively affects the plant’s economic performance.
Материал доступен на русском языке: Отопление подорожало на 7%. Энергетический дайджест за апрель 2026
