The energy intensity of Belarus's GDP decreased by 4.9% in the first half of the year

August 18, Minsk / Tatiana Chumakova - BELTA /. The energy intensity of Belarus's GDP in January-June 2009 decreased by 4.9%. This was announced today to journalists by Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Standardization, Director of the Department for Energy Efficiency Leonid Shenets, BELTA correspondent reports. The forecast for 2009 provides for a reduction of this indicator by 8%. Generalized energy costs for the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2008 decreased by 5%, which amounts to 692.8 thousand tons of conventional fuel. Total energy costs (fuel and electricity consumption, excluding light petroleum products and raw materials) for January-June 2009 amounted to more than 13.2 million tons of conventional fuel. The Department for Energy Efficiency also reported that in Minsk and all regions, except for Vitebsk, the targets for saving fuel and energy resources in the first half of the year were not met. As noted in the Department for Energy Efficiency, in January-June of the current year, the share of local types of fuel (LTF) in the boiler and furnace fuel (BFF) of the republic was 19.8% with a target of 19.4%. Among the regions, the target for the share of LTF in BFF is met by Vitebsk region and Minsk. The greatest lag from the annual target is in Brest and Mogilev regions. Among ministries and departments with an annual consumption of BFF of more than 500 thousand tons of conventional fuel, the target for this indicator is met by the Ministry of Architecture and Construction, the Ministry of Industry, and the Belneftekhim concern. -0-