VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — The operators of the electricity grids of the three Baltic countries officially notified Russia and Belarus on Tuesday that they are withdrawing from a 2001 agreement that kept Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania connected to an electricity transmission system controlled by Moscow.
The Baltic states have already stopped buying electricity from Russia. And in a plan announced last year as part of moves to cut ties with Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, the countries will move their grid connections to the main continental European energy network next February in a bid to end their dependence.
Utilities Elering of Estonia, AST of Latvia and Litgrid of Lithuania said the exit notice was signed on Tuesday in the Latvian capital Riga. The joint agreement with Moscow and Minsk ends on February 7 and the Baltic systems will be disconnected from the grid the following day.
“We will disconnect and dismantle the last physical connections to the Russian and Belarusian networks,” said Litgrid CEO Rokas Masiulis, who called the move an “ambitious energy independence project.”
The three former Soviet republics currently do not purchase electricity from Russia, but remain physically connected to a grid in which the electricity frequency is controlled by Moscow under the 2001 BRELL agreement. The Baltic systems plan to synchronize with the continental European system on February 9, 2025. Both systems use 50 Hz alternating current.
“Synchronisation with the Continental Europe Synchronous Area will ensure independent, stable and reliable frequency control of the Baltic States’ electricity grids and increase energy security in the region,” said Elering, Estonia’s grid operator.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland agreed with the European Union Executive Committee in 2019 to coordinate the connection of the Baltic countries to the EU electricity grid by the end of 2025. However, the Russian war in Ukraine caused the Baltic countries to accelerate the project.
The February 2025 date for the transition was a compromise. Lithuania wanted an energy exit this year, citing Moscow’s unreliability and aggression in Ukraine. Estonia opposed a faster cut-off, saying it could face blackouts if the transition happened too early.
“The Baltic electricity market has adapted and is functioning without electricity imports from Russia,” said Rolands Irklis, chairman of Latvia’s AST.
“Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Latvia has completely stopped importing and exporting electricity from Russia and Belarus. Synchronization with continental Europe is the final step to achieving the country’s independence in electricity supply,” Irklis said.
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Jari Tanner reported from Helsinki.
