Latvia would be ready to withdraw from Russian-Belarusian power grid already today, but there are physical limitations - Karins

RIGA - Politically, Latvia would be ready to withdraw from the joint Russian-Belarusian power grid already today, but this is impossible due to physical limitations, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) said in an interview with Tvnet.

Everything is being done to speed up desynchronization from the Russian-Belarusian power grid, but such a decision requires a second interconnection between Poland and Lithuania, which is still under construction, said Karins.

The prime minister also said that Latvia was planning to gradually reduce the share of electricity generated by natural gas in the future, which will make energy supplies more secure and lower prices.

As reported, Latvia will set apart a natural gas reserve to reduce the risks associated with the planned desynchronization of the power system, Economics Minister Janis Vitenbergs (National Alliance) informed following a government meeting on Tuesday.

The minister said that the government has reached an agreement on buying additional two terawatt hours (TWh) of natural gas to ensure the security of power generation in 2022 and 2023. The Ministries of Economy and Finance have promised to prepare a practical solution for the gas purchase by the next government meeting.

"There are a lot of risks in the current circumstances, so it is essential for us as a state, society and businesses to be safeguarded against these risks. A conceptual decision has been made, and the strategic natural gas reserve might be purchased soon," the minister said.

Vitenbergs said that Latvia would not buy the gas from Russia but that details of this purchase would be revealed later. The gas reserve will be kept at the underground gas storage facility in Incukalns.