„Yesterday we became independent, today we became integrated into the European continental system,“ Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas told journalists after the synchronisation.
The new electricity supply system will be operational by 9 am on Saturday. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will operate in the BRELL electricity system (an electricity ring that connects the systems of Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia).
On Sunday, the Baltic countries joined the European electricity grid, which serves more than 400 million customers in 26 countries. They also permanently cut the electricity links with Russia and Belarus, which will be dismantled soon, according to Litgrid, Lithuania's electricity transmission system operator.
„Since joining the European Union in 2004, synchronisation has been one of Lithuania's most important goals (...) It has taken almost 18 years to achieve,“ Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas told reporters.
The Prime Minister thanked the country's energy community, whose contribution helped the synchronisation process run smoothly, the European Union (EU), which provided more than three-quarters of the funding needed for synchronisation, and the country's partner Poland, whose LitPol Link connected the Baltic countries to the Western electricity grid.
Meanwhile, Dan Jørgensen, the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, who is visiting Lithuania, stressed that the EU must become fully independent from Russian energy sources.
„Energy policy is undoubtedly also a security policy. Unfortunately, we are in a situation in Europe where Russia has brutally invaded Ukraine. It shows that we need to be 100% independent from Russian energy resources,“ the Commissioner told reporters.
Andrius Kubilius, Lithuania's nominated Commissioner for Defence and Space, who took office as Prime Minister at the time of Lithuania's political decision to pursue synchronisation, stressed that this was a historic day not only for Lithuania but also for Europe as a whole and that synchronisation would guarantee greater security in Europe.
„When I look at our (Lithuania – ELTA) history, I see two main goals we have been trying to achieve since we regained independence. First of all, it was our integration into the EU and NATO, which took 40 years. The second was energy independence, which took us 75 years to achieve,“ Kubilius said.
„We need to understand how important the security of energy infrastructure is because we see all the terrible things Russia is doing in Ukraine – their first target is this infrastructure. We see all the incidents in the Baltic Sea that affect our energy infrastructure,“ the Defence Commissioner said.
Until Saturday at 9:00 am. 9 min. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were operating in the BRELL electricity system (the electricity ring connecting the systems of Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia).
The isolated operation test lasted around 30 hours. It involved eight tests of the system's resilience to various disturbances, carried out by the three countries' TSOs – Lithuania's Litgrid, Latvia's Augstsprieguma tīkls and Estonia's Elering.
The Baltic countries are connected to the European synchronous area via the LitPol Link overland link between Lithuania and Poland.
Although Lithuania will no longer buy electricity from Russia from 2022 before desynchronisation from BRELL, Moscow centrally controls the frequency of the Baltic electricity system. From now on, the Baltic countries will be able to manage the system's voltage and frequency independently, which will increase the region's energy security.
According to Litgrid's data, as of 9–10 am on Sunday, the total electricity generation in the Baltic countries amounted to 3,024 MW, while the total consumption was 3,143 MW. Interconnections provide the rest of the power to Sweden, Poland, and Finland.
Lithuania terminated the BRELL contract on Friday, 7 February, at 11 pm—59 min.
To ensure electricity supply, Lithuania operates two units each at the Elektrėnai and Mažeikiai power plants over the weekend, and the Panevėžys power plant has been activated, while energy is imported from Scandinavia – Sweden and Finland via the NordBalt and the Estlink links.
The entire synchronisation process cost the Baltic countries around EUR 1.6 billion, of which EUR 1.2 billion, or 75% of the total cost, was covered by the European Union (EU).
The Telšiai and Alytus synchronous compensators are already in operation in Lithuania to ensure a smooth transition to the continental European electricity system, and a third compensator on the Neris is planned to be commissioned in spring. Latvia and Estonia will also have three compensators each.
A new 700 megawatt (MW) Harmony Link with Poland is also planned for 2030, helping to ensure the integration of the Baltic and Western electricity markets.