What do you think about Gazprom plans to build gas-fueled thermal power plants in the Baltics?
S. L.: Electricity generated through use of natural gas is expensive, especially if its price is compared to the price of the Latvian hydro power, for example. In the situation where the Baltic States have no alternative gas supplier to replace Gazprom, it will be very risky to increase significantly the share of gas-generated electric power and invest heavily in the gas-fueled thermal power stations. In our opinion, the key points are the pricing forecast and the reliability of the supply. R. J.: Lietuvos Energija is the transmission system operator. Our evaluation is, therefore, primarily based on the security of electricity supply. Our main concerns lie with the availability of more power plants and the greater security that this will provide. BC: Where electric power industry specialists are trained today? S. L.: In Estonia the specialties needed for the electric power system can be studied on the level of vocational education, applied higher education and academic higher education
