The Baltic States’ planned grid synchronisation with Western Europe in February 2025 will slightly raise electricity prices for consumers, says Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys, but higher production would help control prices.
According to him, the Lithuanian grid operator Litgrid has done calculations, according to which “the synchronisation’s impact on prices is minimal, a few percent”.
“Basically, I will repeat once again, the factor determining prices is the availability of infrastructure, the second is seasonality,” Kreivys told BNS in the southern town of Alytus on July 2.
In his words, the price of electricity may increase due to the need for balancing capacity: “Lithuania will have less need for balancing capacity because we have it internally, while Latvia and Estonia will find it more expensive.”
Last year, Litgrid calculated that synchronising its grid with Western Europe would cost Lithuanian consumers on average 50 cents per month (for an average consumption of 140 kWh), 60 cents for Estonian consumers and about one euro for Latvian consumers.
Litgrid CEO Rokas Masiulis said he was reluctant to speculate about the synchronisation’s impact on electricity prices and stressed that it would depend on the development of renewable energy projects.
Kreivys says electricity prices are mostly determined by the availability of infrastructure and can be controlled by the highest possible production.
“For example, today one of the Estlink’s (the link between Finland and Estonia) cables, the larger one, is damaged and is under repair, and automatically electricity from Scandinavia, specifically Finland, cannot reach the Baltic countries, which leads to higher prices. The operation or non-operation of the NordBalt cable also has an impact. The highest possible generation in the Baltic states, and especially in Lithuania, is the best cure for high prices,” the Lithuanian energy minister said.
As the Baltic states are set to notify Russia and Belarus of their termination of the BRELL contract, which they have to do until August 7, the energy ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are due to meet in Riga on July 10.
In August 2023, the Baltic prime ministers signed a declaration committing to synchronise the Baltic electricity grids with Western Europe until February 2025. The commitment was confirmed in December 2023 in a declaration signed by the European Commission and the Baltic and Polish ministers in charge of energy. (LRT)