Rezekne (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The three Baltic nations unplugged their electricity systems from Russia’s power grid on February 08, 2025, the region’s operators stated.
Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia disconnected from the IPS/UPS joint network and following last-minute tests, they will synchronise with the European Union’s grid at 1200 GMT on February 9, 2025, after functioning on their own in the meantime.
How will the Baltic nations synchronise with the EU grid?
“We’ve reached the goal we strived for, for so long. We are now in control,”
Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said during a news conference.
Lithuania’s energy ministry said it had developed contingency scenarios whereby some serious energy users, such as manufacturers, could be temporarily detached from the grid in the event of power deficiencies to maintain necessary supplies.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said,
“By ending the energy dependence of the Baltic states on Russia, we are leaving the aggressor without the option of using energy as a weapon against us.”
“The system is stable, the process is happening smoothly, no one is noticing that something changed,” Latvian Energy Minister Kaspars Melnis told Reuters following the decoupling.
What role did Russia’s invasion of Ukraine play in this decision?
The three baltic states halted purchases of power from Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but have depended on the Russian grid to manage frequencies and stabilise networks to evade outages.
Agendas for the Baltics to disconnect from the grid of their ex-Soviet imperial overlord argued for decades accumulated momentum following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The grid was the last remaining connection to Russia for the three nations, which reemerged as independent countries in the early 1990s at the collapse of the Soviet Union and joined NATO and the EU in 2004.
The Baltic nations have disbursed about 1.6 billion euros since 2018 to boost grids to qualify, while Russia has spent 100 billion roubles, including on the construction of several gas-fired power manufacturers in Kaliningrad.
