Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania announced today that they have communicated to Russia and its ally Belarus their intention to disconnect, from February 2025, from the electricity grid, which dates back to the Soviet era.
The three Baltic countries, which for decades were part of the Soviet Union, but which are now part of the European Union and NATO, have thus taken an important step towards energy independence from Russia.
These countries have had tense relations with Moscow since they regained their independence in the early 1990s, and these ties have deteriorated further since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
"We will cut the last energy connections with Russia," said Rokas Masiulis, director of Litgrid, the state operator of Lithuania's electricity grid, quoted by the AFP agency.
The official indicated that in the next six months he will disconnect the Russian electrical grid and dismantle the last remaining electrical lines.
Representatives of the Latvian operator AST and the Estonian Elering also announced this decision.
In a statement, operator Elaring said that "the energy systems of the three Baltic states are already ready for emergency synchronization at any time, if necessary."
Thus, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will disconnect from the Russian network on February 7th, rejoining the European network two days later.
Although they declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, their electricity grids remained linked to Russia and Belarus.
Their frequency is therefore regulated from their headquarters in Moscow, meaning they still rely on Russia to guarantee a stable flow of electricity.
The three countries decided in 2018 to synchronize their electrical grids with the continental European system, after obtaining financial support from the European Union.
In the future, they will have access to the European Union's electricity grid through Poland.
