OREANDA-NEWS. April 24, 2008. In late Mar the Kaliningrad Sociological Center conducted a sociological survey concerning the energy security of Kaliningrad region. The Center questioned 1,000 people.

64% of the respondents said that, in order to overcome the energy crisis, the region should build new power plants, 17% said that it should modernize the existing ones, 9% said that it should save energy and 10% had no answer to this question.

There is no domineering preference for a specific source of energy. 31% of the respondents expressed support for nuclear power plants, 26% — for gas-fueled plants and 19% — for alternative sources of energy. 

Most of the respondents agreed with the view that NPPs produce cheaper energy (68%) and pay high wages to their employees (70%). However, only 1/3 of them realize that the key advantage of NPPs is their ecological safety. 1/3 of the respondents evaded the question, probably, for lack of specific position but none of them showed downright opposition to nuclear energy.

Most of the residents of Kaliningrad region are aware of the plants of their neighbors (Belarus, Lithuania, Finland) to build new nuclear power plants. 1/3 of the respondents were absolutely unaware, while over 30% said that they “just heard something about it.” Half of the respondents said that they hadn’t heard anything about the plans of some Lithuanians to hold a referendum in support of Ignalina NPP. 52% of them were ready to support the idea for extending the service life of an RBMK (Chernobyl-type) reactor and only 14% supported Lithuania’s decision to shut down Ignalina NPP. 13% said that neither the shutdown nor the survival of Ignalina would have any influence on Kaliningrad region.