Yesterday Belarusian authorities said they were ready to increase purchases of Ukrainian electricity at a much higher price: USD 49/MWh. Currently Belarus purchases electricity from Russia for USD 42/MWh, and Ukrainian electricity for USD 29/MWh. Alexander Paraschiy: Belarus’ move is connected to the country’s plans to decrease dependence on energy supplies from Russia on the background of Gazprom’s announcement it will cut gas supplies to Belarus effective tomorrow. The increase in demand from Belarus will increase demand for domestic electricity by roughly 1%-2%.