Baltic states withdraw from Russian power grid
A long-prepared and technically complicated step is due to take place as quietly as possible this weekend: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan to sever their last remaining connection with the post-Soviet electricity system, known as the Brell ring, on Saturday. Once certain test runs have been completed they will then synchronise their electricity grids with the rest of Europe, probably on Sunday. Commentators take a closer look.
Throwing off the last shackles
Energy expert Valdemar Fiodorovič is reassuring in IQ:
“This is a historic moment for Lithuania and the other Baltic states: the decoupling from the post-Soviet Brell energy ring. ... Rumours are circulating - also fuelled by hostile forces - that the move could lead to massive power cuts or a drastic rise in prices. But for most consumers little will change. ... For years, the Brell grid was a kind of umbilical cord that Russia used for energy blackmailing - similar to what it did with oil and gas supplies. While dependence on the latter resources has already been overcome, the electricity link remained one of the last shackles preventing Lithuania from taking full control of its own energy system.”
A major, but hopefully inconspicuous step
Kalle Kilk, CEO of the state-owned power company Elering, explains in Maaleht:
“If everything goes according to plan no one will notice, but in terms of importance this step is comparable to the introduction of the crown [which replaced the rouble in 1992 and was then replaced by the euro in 2011] or EU accession. With this long-prepared step we are reducing geopolitical risks and making ourselves completely independent of Russia, which still has a certain influence over our electricity grid and market. ... For decades now we've been preparing to leave the Russian power grid, more intensely since 2018-2019. We have made significant investments to strengthen our electricity grid, including hundreds of millions of euros in EU funding.”