The Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – are set to sever ties with Russia’s power grid that date back to the 1950s and instead integrate further with the European Union. The decision comes after suspected sabotage of subsea cables has spurred efforts to strengthen regional security.
Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 increased momentum to cut ties, with the three countries spending nearly 1.6 billion euros since 2018 on upgrading their grids to prepare for the switch. For Russia, the decoupling means its Kaliningrad exclave will be cut off from the main grid.
“We have taken all measures to ensure the uninterrupted, reliable operation of our electricity system,” said the Kremlin’s spokesperson. However, analysts say that damage to both remaining undersea cables would force Baltics to restart their outdated and expensive gas and shale oil plants, pushing power prices to levels not seen since the invasion of Ukraine.
The Estlink 2 subsea power link between Estonia and Latvia was damaged in an incident last year, prompting regional governments to review energy infrastructure security. Lithuania’s grid operator Litgrid warned that all major Baltic power plants would need to be kept working if the subsea links were forced offline, which could make baseload power prices jump.
The decision has been made despite public anxiety about the switch, with sales of diesel power generators increasing tenfold in Estonia in January. However, officials say that outages are unlikely to occur and that some heavy energy users may be temporarily disconnected from the grid if needed to maintain essential supplies.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/baltics-brace-cut-decades-old-ties-russian-grid-2025-02-07