Baltic States fully disconnect from Russian and Belarussian electricity networks

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have become fully independent from Russia’s and Belarus’s electricity systems. On 8 February, the Baltic States de-synchronised from the Russian and Belarusian frequency area. On 9 February, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania started the synchronisation process with the European frequency area, marking their full integration into the EU internal energy market.

The Baltic States were the last three EU Member States whose electricity networks were still operating fully within the Russian and Belarussian system, where the electricity frequency was centrally controlled by Russia.

“The last remaining electricity lines with Russia and Belarus will now be dismantled. These chains of power lines, linking the Baltic states to hostile neighbours will be a thing of the past,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “This is freedom. Freedom from threats and blackmail. Congratulations on the start of this new era.” 

The synchronisation of the Baltics into the EU’s electricity grid is a flagship project which has been supported by the Commission with political, technical and financial backing over the past 15 years. This includes over €1.23 billion in grants from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility, covering 75% of the investment costs.

Find out more

Press release