Key events
A project is underway at the Homel CHPP-1 branch of Homel Heating Networks, part of RUE Homelenergo, to replace outdated electrical equipment and modernize the plant’s infrastructure.
The Belenergo state production association is expanding its cooperation with companies of the Inter RAO Group. Key areas of collaboration include: the reconstruction project of Minsk CHPP-3, which involves the supply of a steam turbine and auxiliary equipment by Ural Turbine Works JSC (UTZ); ensuring the safe operation of turbine unit TP-115/130-12.8 No. 7 at Minsk CHPP-3; and the supply of equipment for the reconstruction of the PT-60 turbine unit at Babruysk CHPP. Work is also underway to establish maintenance services for gas turbines in Belarus, carried out by Modern Gas Turbine Technologies LLC and Russian Gas Turbines LLC.
At the Lukoml State District Power Plant (GRES), maintenance work on power unit No. 1 continues. The overhaul began in September and is scheduled for completion by the end of November. The work includes repairs of the turbine bearings, main steam valves, heat exchangers, pumps, and fittings.
On October 12, due to severe weather conditions in the Vitebsk region, power outages occurred. Repair crews worked to restore electricity in 37 settlements, and full power supply was restored by 1:18 a.m. on October 13.
In the Dobrush district, a reconstruction project was carried out at the 110 kV «Terekhovka» substation operated by the Gomel Electric Networks branch of RUE «Gomelenergo».
On October 23, in the city of Dzerzhinsk and the Dzerzhinsk and Stolbtsy districts, power outages occurred due to an emergency shutdown at the 110 kV «Dzerzhinsk» substation and seven 35 kV substations. A total of 197 settlements, 15 boiler houses, and five first-category consumers, including the district hospital, were left without electricity. Power supply was fully restored at 00:18 on October 24.
Since October 15, 2025, OJSC “Naftan” and OJSC “Mozyr Oil Refinery” have switched to the production and shipment of diesel fuel of grade DT-Z-K5.
The Government of the Republic of Belarus and Gazprom have signed a Roadmap for Cooperation for 2025–2030. The text of the document has not been published, but it is noted that the roadmap is aimed at developing cooperation in the fuel, energy, and industrial sectors.
At the 110 kV “Myasokombinat” substation, a key stage of reconstruction has been completed — the primary 110 kV equipment has been commissioned.
From October 16 to 31, blasting operations will be carried out near the following settlements in the Gomel Region: the city of Vasilevichy, the village of Vedrych, and the villages of Torfazavod and Zakroshynsky Mokh.
OJSC Gomeltransneft Druzhba has completed the scheduled reconstruction of two reinforced-concrete tanks (No. 4 and No. 6) with a total capacity of 60,000 m³ at the Polotsk Line Production Dispatcher Station (LPDS Polotsk) branch.
Statistics and data
In Belarus, the registration of readiness certificates for the autumn–winter period has been completed. The State Energy and Gas Supervision Authority registered 28,323 consumer readiness certificates and 10,315 heat source readiness certificates.
The number of electric vehicles in Belarus has exceeded 41,000 units.
In 2024, a total of 567.6 thousand square meters of housing with electric heating were built in Belarus — about 1.5 times higher than planned.
“In the first eight months of 2025, 246.8 thousand square meters were constructed, which represents about 76% of the annual target,” the official noted.
The cost of heating varies depending on the system:
- In individual houses with electric heating, it is just over BYN 12 per square meter.
- With centralized heating, it is around BYN 9 per square meter.
In apartment buildings, heating costs using electricity and centralized systems are approximately the same, provided that social standards are observed.
Ten new charging stations were added to the national network, and 2,684 more drivers switched to environmentally friendly transport.
In September, Belorusneft commissioned eight new wells.
In September, the Rig Assembly Department handed over five assembled drilling rigs to its colleagues from SUBR.
Five new sites have been prepared for drilling rig construction.
Final energy consumption in the manufacturing industry.
Final energy consumption in the residential sector.
Statements
“This program, this large-scale modernization — it’s a kind of analogue of GOELRO, one could say GOELRO-2,” said Minister of Energy Denis Moroz, characterizing the planned measures to subsidize electricity consumption.
Topic of the issue: Ideology in Energy Policy
The annual exhibition “Energy Expo 2025” was held in Minsk, accompanied by conferences and round tables. The conference “Energy Security and Innovative Energy Development” promised to be particularly interesting, but the discussions mainly focused on equipment operation safety, labor protection, and software. Issues such as energy dependence, low diversification, and energy autonomy are not considered problems at the level of the Ministry of Energy.
However, the true demonstration of ideological distortion of reality came during a discussion between Minister of Energy Denis Moroz and Olga Prudnikova, Director of the Energy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
They voiced the main ideological narratives and manipulative arguments used to justify the current energy policy and its detachment from reality. Prudnikova began with a meaningless argument about the “density of the energy flow” measured in units per square meter. The development of the energy sector is not limited by available land area, and this indicator is irrelevant in economic or technical calculations. Moreover, unused land areas in Belarus—and especially in Russia—are vast.
Prudnikova also claimed that the construction of renewable energy facilities requires long-term contracts with fixed prices, asking rhetorically: “But how can the system stay balanced? Everyone should have equal access to all types of energy.” However, nuclear power plants also operate under long-term contracts, and their electricity demand is guaranteed by the power system (that does not apply to renewables in Belarus). Moreover, nuclear plants do not contribute to system balancing, which in fact creates serious problems for Belarus’s energy system. While invoking the principle of “equal access,” Prudnikova conveniently ignored that Belarus has introduced quotas on renewable energy construction, effectively blocking such access.
She further expressed concern about the “disposal of wind turbines and solar panels.” Yet her concern seems to apply only to renewables—there was no mention of radioactive waste management, the costs of decommissioning nuclear plants, or the coal ash dumps that pose far greater environmental risks.
The official position of the Ministry of Energy toward renewable energy sources (RES) is that “they must be competitive with traditional methods of energy production.” This statement formally aligns with the views of independent experts. However, in practice, Belarus has introduced restrictive quotas on the development of renewables, effectively blocking the construction of even competitive RES installations. At the same time, the nuclear power plant enjoys extensive tax exemptions—including from profit tax, property tax, and land tax. In addition, a system of electricity consumption subsidies was established specifically to support power generated by the NPP. Later at the same meeting, Yaroshenko, Deputy State Secretary of the Union State, spoke about state programs to support nuclear energy funded from the budget.
“We are against renewables influencing energy tariffs,”— stated Minister Denis Moroz, fully aware that to integrate the nuclear plant into the grid, Belarus had introduced two new electricity tariffs with subsidies covering up to 80% of the actual cost.
“Can a modern energy system be built solely on renewable energy sources?” — the event’s moderator asked. Yet no one builds an energy system based exclusively on renewables. Likewise, it is impossible to build an energy system based only on nuclear power, but that did not stop Belarus from constructing one nuclear plant and planning another.
“Renewables cannot be considered in isolation,” the participants insisted.“They are burdened with the mandatory installation of storage systems.” However, renewables can be developed without storage systems up to a certain share in the overall energy mix. In contrast, nuclear power requires backup systems, capacity balancing mechanisms, and—specifically in Belarus—electric boilers to maintain grid stability.
Overall, the roundtable — which was expected to become a high-level platform for discussing or presenting the main directions of energy development — turned into an ideological performance filled with manipulation and false narratives. Most importantly, the stated topic, “The role of integration associations in shaping a new energy agenda,” was barely discussed at all. Perhaps this role simply does not exist — or it consists only in providing an ideological justification for the lack of real development.
Материал доступен на русском языке: Правительство и «Газпром» подписали секретную дорожную карту, а авария в Дзержинске обесточила больницу. Энергетический дайджест за октябрь 2025 года.
