Baltic states break free from Russian power grid ties
This weekend, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will take a historic step by disconnecting from the Russian and post-Soviet power system controlled by Moscow. They will connect to the Western European network. Preparations for this process have taken 15 years.
- We are ready for all scenarios. Our societies can be calm, everything is under control, assured Lithuanian Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas at the end of January after a meeting attended by Polish Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment Krzysztof Bolesta.
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will experience a historic disconnect from the Moscow-controlled power system on Saturday (8 February GMT). The following day, the Baltic countries' systems will be synchronised with Western European networks.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Energy recently emphasised that "Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have sufficient power and external connections, such as EstLink-1 (with Finland), NordBalt (with Sweden), and LitPol Link (with Poland), to connect their systems with Europe."
"Solar and wind projects connected to the Baltic system in recent years have increased generation capacity," was stated in a document cited by the Baltic News Service (BNS).
Electricity prices in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
Žygimantas Vaičiūnas The Lithuanian Minister of Energy, Zygimantas Vainas, assured that the disconnection from the BRELL system, in which Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have remained since Soviet times along with Russia and Belarus, will not affect electricity prices.
He pointed out that for over a year, no electricity has been purchased from Russia or Belarus. As a result, synchronization with European networks will not negatively affect the electricity market, with its impact on prices being minimal or nearly nonexistent.
The role of Poland in the synchronisation process
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will be disconnected from the post-Soviet IPS/UPS system and synchronised with the Continental Europe Synchronous Area (CESA) at midnight GMT on February 7th and 8th, 2025.
At this point, seven existing power connections in the IPS/UPS area will be physically disconnected. Simultaneously, the currently direct LitPol Link connection between Ełk and Lithuanian Alytus will begin to operate as a synchronous line. It is a double-circuit line with 400 kilovolts (kV), the only such CESA connection with the Baltic countries.
Apart from LitPol Link, the Baltic countries have three more undersea connections: NordBalt, which connects Klaipeda in Lithuania with Swedish Nybro and has a capacity of 700 megawatts (MW), and two Estonia-Finland cables: EstLink-1, which has a capacity of 360 MW, and EstLink-2, which has a capacity of 660 MW.
