A full moon is seen rising through power poles near Virbalis, Lithuania February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
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VILNIUS/WARSAW, June 30 (Reuters) – European grid operators are ready to immediately implement a long-term plan to bring the Baltic states, which rely on the Russian grid, into the European Union system in case Moscow cuts them off, three sources familiar with the matter said. the question, reported Reuters.
Concerns about dependence on Russia for any form of energy have grown across Europe as Russian gas supplies to some countries have been reduced following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Baltic states are nervous because Lithuania has clashed with Russia over blocking goods to the Moscow enclave of Kaliningrad. Read more
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Thirty years after breaking away from the former Soviet Union and 17 years after joining the European Union, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania depend on Russia for stable energy supplies. Read more
The Baltic states have a long-term plan to become part of the European decentralized network of electricity grids, known as ENTSO-E, by 2025.
The sources said this could be implemented immediately if needed, according to contingency plans prepared by ENTSO-E for such a case. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The Russian and continental European systems operate on a frequency of 50 hertz, but while the Russian system is controlled by Moscow, the continental European networks are decentralized, meaning that each national network operator is responsible for maintaining the stability of its system.
However, in an emergency, those in the European system can help.
Back in March, the EU and Ukraine connected their grids – 2-1/5 years ahead of schedule – allowing Ukraine to receive emergency power from Europe if military attacks cause outages. Read more
Ideally, the Baltic states will not disconnect from the Russian grid until 2025, after the completion of investments backed by 1.6 billion euros ($1.68 billion) in EU funding to modernize their infrastructure.
However, the sources said the Baltic states would now be able to cope if necessary. Grids will operate in a stable manner, but a lack of infrastructure modernization could mean higher electricity prices, one of them said.
TEST RUN
Lithuania last year installed and successfully tested equipment to connect the Baltic electricity grid with ENTSO-E member Poland.
ENTSO-E was not available for comment on Thursday, and the Polish electricity grid declined to comment.
A spokesman for Litgrid, which runs the Lithuanian grid, told Reuters that last year’s test of the Lithuanian-Polish LitPolLink link upgrade showed that “in case of an emergency, the Baltic countries will receive help and be able to connect to the grids of continental Europe.” .
“We are coordinating with regional partners and are ready to provide reliable power in all scenarios,” the spokesperson said.
Removing the Baltics from the regional network would also cut off the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which is wedged between Lithuania, Poland and the Baltic Sea, meaning it would have to manage the network independently.
A test of whether Kaliningrad could do so was planned for Saturday, but Russia called it off shortly before the date.
No one could immediately be reached in Russia to comment on plans for the Baltic network.
However, Russia said it was committed to honoring its energy supply contracts.
It said reduced gas deliveries this month through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany were caused by the delayed return of turbine equipment serviced by Germany’s Siemens Energy in Canada.
($1 = 0.9508 EUR)
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Additional reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels. Written by Andrius Sitas; edited by Barbara Lewis
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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