Baltic nations break free from Russian power control
On Saturday, the Baltic countries will disconnect from the post-Soviet power grid and synchronise with continental Europe. This process has taken almost 20 years and cost over 1.3 billion pounds.
The Baltic countries—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—will begin the operation to sever ties with the post-Soviet power grid on Saturday. The synchronisation with the continental European grid is the culmination of nearly 20 years of preparation, involving over 1.3 billion pounds of investment. The decision to exit the system controlled by Russia was made in 2007.
Four direct current connections, including the LitPol Link connecting Poland and Lithuania, were established as part of the preparations. The entire operation cost approximately 1.4 billion pounds, of which 1 billion pounds came from EU funds.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas assures that the country is ready for synchronisation. "Algorithms are being prepared to respond to unexpected events," he emphasised, adding that synchronisation is not expected to impact electricity prices significantly.
"Victory for Europe's freedom and unity"
"Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will permanently disconnect from Russia’s power grid tomorrow. Russia can no longer use energy as a tool of blackmail. This is a victory for freedom and European unity," wrote Kaja Kallas, the EU's chief diplomat, on platform X.
The Lithuanian Prime Minister's energy adviser, Gabriel Gorbacevski, explains that energy trade with Russia and Belarus ended in 2022 and 2020, respectively. By January 2025, Lithuania had produced 75% of its energy needs, reducing consumer costs.
