On February 8, the three Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—disconnected from the electricity transmission network linking them with Russia, Belarus, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. According to Russia’s Ministry of Energy, the decision of the Baltic states leaves more stable power supply to the residents of Kaliningrad.
“Today, the total capacity of Kaliningrad’s power plants is 1.88 gigawatts, which is twice the region’s peak energy consumption. This allows us to ensure a stable power supply for residents under any circumstances,” the ministry stated.
According to the Estonian news agency Postimees, within 33 hours, the Baltic states will fully operate within their own frequency zone. By Sunday evening, they are expected to synchronize with the Continental European grid (also known as the UCTE network) via Lithuania’s connection to Poland. This network spans most of Europe, from Portugal in the west to Ukraine and Turkey in the east.
The synchronization project, which includes the Baltic states and Poland, has received an investment of €1.6 billion. Estonia’s electricity grid operator confirmed that the disconnection had no impact on consumers.
“By ending the Baltic countries’ energy dependence on Russia, we are depriving the aggressor of the ability to use electricity as a weapon against us and strengthening our systems at both national and regional levels,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Baltic states have stopped purchasing Russian gas and electricity. However, their power grids remained connected to Russia and Belarus until now.
