Baltic nations break free from Russia's power grid monopoly
On Saturday, the Baltic countries will disconnect from the post-Soviet power grid and synchronize with continental Europe. This process took almost 20 years and cost over 1.6 billion dollars.
The Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, will begin disconnecting from the post-Soviet power grid on Saturday. Synchronization with the continental European network took nearly 20 years and cost over 1.6 billion dollars. The decision to exit the system controlled by Russia was made in 2007.
Four direct current connections, including the LitPol Link connecting Poland with Lithuania, were established as part of the preparations. The entire operation cost approximately 1.7 billion dollars, of which 1.3 billion dollars came from EU funds.
The Prime Minister of Lithuania, Gintautas Paluckas, assures that the country is ready for synchronization. “Algorithms are being prepared to respond to unexpected events,” he emphasized. Synchronization is not expected to significantly affect electricity prices.
"Victory for freedom and unity of Europe"
"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 EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas on platform X.
Gabriel Gorbacevski, the energy advisor to the Prime Minister of Lithuania, explains that energy trade with Russia and Belarus ended in 2022 and 2020, respectively. By January 2025, Lithuania met 75% of its energy needs through domestic production, which lowered consumer prices.
