The working group, which is headed by Energy Minister Jaroslav Neverovič, believes that the Visaginas project can be further developed if Lithuanian political parties reach a cross-party agreement; if regional partners confirm their participation in the project and invest in a project development company before a final investment decision is made; and if better financing terms for the project can be secured from international credit institutions.
"The continuity of the Visaginas NPP project is possible if additional conditions are satisfied: to ensure sharing of the project implementation costs and responsibilities by validating the participation of the regional partners in the Visaginas NPP project in the form of an agreement; together with the strategic investor and the regional partners, to ensure maximum financing, at the lowest costs, for the project from international financial institutions and export credit agencies; to ensure the provision of continuous and comprehensive information about the project to the public, given that the project can be implemented only if there is national agreement on ensuring rational, competitive, sustainable and viable electricity supply," according to the report released by Vz.lt.
The working group recommends that the government propose that parliamentary political parties sign a national accord on energy in order to ensure maximum depoliticization of the energy sector and implementation of long-term strategic goals in the energy sector.
The Visaginas project was launched by the previous conservative-led government. However, a non-binding referendum held alongside general elections last October, returned a two-third "no" vote. Ever since, the new government has been evasive about its plans on continuing the project, saying a working group must first consider its advantages and drawbacks.
Previously, BNS has reported, citing unofficial sources, that Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant might be left out of Lithuania's energy strategy altogether.
Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius has informed President Dalia Grybauskaitė about preliminary conclusions drawn up by the working group on Monday, but their spokespeople declined to comment on the details of the meeting.
"The prime minister presented the strategy to the president for the first time. However, we are making no comments at the moment, because the document will be presented to the government's strategic committee at 2 PM and to the ruling coalition partners at 5 PM," Butkevičius' spokeswoman Evelina Butkutė-Lazdauskienė told BNS.
The president's spokeswoman Daiva Ulbinaitė also said that she would not comment for now.
"We want to wait until the conclusions are formally presented to the public," she told BNS.
