Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys has denied reports by a bankruptcy administrator of Inter RAO Lietuva, a Russian electricity supplier, that the country continues to buy energy from Moscow.
“I want to state repeatedly that the transmission system operators (TSOs) of the Baltic countries are not buying any services,” he told MPs on November 8. “I have today’s data from the operator Litgrid. If Inter RAO is issuing invoices, which nobody intends to pay because contracts have been terminated, it is their problem.”
Inter RAO Lietuva is controlled by Inter RAO, a Russian energy monopoly, and is now undergoing bankruptcy procedures.
Aurimas Valaitis, administrator of Inter RAO Lietuva, said that the Baltic TSOs continued to buy energy from Inter RAO Lietuva to balance the system.
“Balancing services are purchased from Inter RAO Lietuva beyond June 2, but the system operators are doing their best to keep these quantities at a minimum,” Valaitis said.
“However, the contract with Inter RAO Lietuva is in fact being executed and the balancing services are being purchased,” Valaitis said. “Every month, we coordinate the volumes that flow into the Russian network, received in Lithuania from the Russian network. Then, acts are signed for these quantities, invoices are issued accordingly, and amounts payable are created.”
Valaitis refrained from disclosing how much money the Baltic TSOs paid to Inter RAO Lietuva for the balancing service, but said those were “significant amounts”, adding that they were “beneficial” to the company coming through bankruptcy proceedings.
Inter RAO Lietuva receives service payments from Estonian TSO Elering, but Litgrid is also a party to the contract, Valaitis says.
When responding to a question about the BNS report, Kreivys said the “contracts have been terminated”.
Litgrid, Lithuania’s state-owned electricity transmission system operator, previously said that it was not buying any services from Inter RAO Lietuva.
In early June, Litgrid also said the Baltic TSOs had given up the technical flows of Russian energy and were jointly balancing the system. The balancing service was provided for the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian TSOs by Inter RAO Lietuva.
On October 24, Vilnius Regional Court temporarily suspended Inter RAO Lietuva’s bankruptcy proceedings. Valaitis said at the time the company’s operations had become completely paralysed.
The company asked the court to allow it to carry out part of its functions, including current payments, economic and commercial activities and other necessary actions.
On June 30, Inter RAO Lietuva’s creditors decided to initiate out-of-court bankruptcy proceedings against the company.
The bankruptcy was initiated after the Lithuanian Financial Crimes Investigation Service (FNTT) imposed restrictions on Inter RAO Lietuva’s banking operations in mid-March.
In May, the FNTT said the company’s funds and shares had been frozen due to its alleged links with Pootin.
Up until now, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have been operating with Russia and Belarus within the IPS/UPS system where the electricity frequency is centrally regulated in Russia.
The Baltic States seek to connect to continental Europe’s grid until the end of 2025, but Lithuania wants to complete the process until 2024. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
