Thanks to the BelNPP, you can charge an electric car for a couple of rubles. This is why the popularity of electric vehicles is growing in the country, Dmitry Zhuk, editor-in-chief of the media outlet Belarus Segodnya, said in the Belarus 1 TV channel’s program Editor’s Club on March 23, 2024.
This is the dialogue Belarus 1 TV viewers shown:
“What a pressure was there on Belarus, the country that built its first nuclear power plant,” Ivan Eismont, presenter of the program, recalled.
“Why did electric cars appear? Because the station was built. You can charge it,” Dmitry Zhuk concluded.
“You can charge it for a couple of rubles,” Ivan Eismont continued.
“And it became profitable,” concluded Dmitry Zhuk.
Belarusians have expanded the use of electric vehicles not because of the construction of nuclear power plant, but because of the abolition of taxes and duties on their import.
According to the National Statistics Committee, in 2020, there were 750 electric vehicles for personal use in the country. In 2020, a new decree exempted electric car buyers from paying VAT when importing them into Belarus. And in mid-2022, customs clearance was also canceled. As a result, in two years the number of electric vehicles has increased 4.5 times.
In 2023, their number almost doubled again: before it was 3.5 thousand, and now — 6.5 thousand. However, the customs duties abolition is temporary, valid only until the end of 2025.
As for the nuclear power plant, before its construction, public charging for electric vehicles was free. True, there were fewer electric vehicles that time.
Since the beginning of 2021, charging electric vehicles has become paid; compared to other countries, the price is not high. From April 1, 2024, it increased to 13 cents per 1 kWh of slow charging.
