Baltic states finally synchronise their power grids with Europe
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia synchronised their power grids with continental Europe on Sunday after 14:00.
Source: Lithuanian news network LRT, as reported by European Pravda
Quote from Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda: "A few minutes ago, I received great news – the synchronisation of the Baltic power grid with the networks of continental Europe has been successfully completed."
Details: He called the synchronisation a historic moment that marks the end of a long journey of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia towards energy independence.
Quote: "The times of political pressure and blackmail are finally over."
Details: The president expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in this project, from technical staff to former or current leaders of the countries.
The three Baltic states disconnected from the Russian electricity system (UES/UPS), which began operating smoothly in Soviet times on Saturday morning and operated in isolation until Sunday afternoon.
The Baltic states are connected to the continental European synchronous zone via the Lithuanian-Polish power line LitPol Link.
Besides the Lithuania-Poland LitPol Link overhead power connection, through which the synchronisation took place, the Baltic states are also connected to Northern Europe via the Lithuania-Sweden NordBalt offshore connection and the Estonia-Finland EstLink 1 and EstLink2 offshore connections.
By 2030, it is planned to build another land connection between Lithuania and Poland – Harmony Link, intended for trade.
Quote from Nausėda: "Harmony Link will facilitate stable synchronisation and electricity trading operations, ensuring competitive prices for households and industry."
Background:
Back in July 2024, energy ministers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania confirmed their plans to synchronise with the continental European energy system ENTSO-E and disconnect from Russia by February 2025.
On 8 February, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania officially disconnected from the Russian energy system.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called it a "momentous day", while his predecessor in the post, now the top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas, called it a "victory for freedom and European unity".
Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas expressed his belief that the disconnection of the three Baltic states from Russiaʼs energy system strengthens energy security and ensures stability.
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