Lithuania’s national security would not be affected if the Baltic States were disconnected from the common electricity system with Belarus and Russia (BRELL), Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys said on April 19.
Such a cut-off would not have an impact on Lithuanian consumers because the country would be immediately connected to the Western European grid via Poland, according to the minister.
“Today, imports from Russia are very minimal – just enough to keep the system technically operational,” Kreivys tsaid. “So, basically nothing would change if Lithuania were cut off from BRELL.”
“The only thing that would change is that we would have to make a really big effort to maintain the stability of the grid because we still have to install certain equipment to be able to operate completely safely.”
According to the minister, a cut-off from BRELL could “cause some tension”, but authorities “are ready to deal with it”, so “people would not even feel it”.
The Baltic States aim to synchronize their electricity grids with the Continental European system and disconnect from the post-Soviet BRELL ring until the end of 2025.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, energy ministers from the three Baltic States have called on the EU to speed up the process.
Kreivys said discussions were currently underway with Europe on the possibility of accelerating the synchronization. However, he could not give a date when Lithuania could be fully ready to disconnect from BRELL and synchronize with the Continental European grid. (LRT/Business World Magazine)