National grid and profitable enterprises to take foreign exchange risks for energy debt of loss-making enterprises

In order to solve the problem with overdue debt for energy, the government has decided to fix the debt as of January 1^st, 2016 in Belarusian roubles and uniformly repay it until December 31^st, 2017. Belarus buys natural gas and electricity with foreign currency, and electricity tariffs are tied to the US Dollar. Credit burden on energy sector is likely to grow, Energy enterprises are likely to suffer loses form the exchange rate differences. Electricity tariffs for industrial enterprises are unlikely to decrease in the short term, regardless of their rise for the population, and the share of energy in the cost structure in the economy will grow. Enterprises may save some funds if they avoid cross-subsidies in the energy sector, which could reduce electricity prices for industry by more than 30%