Energy Lithuania: Cable damage has no impact on connection to the EU power grid
After suspected sabotage on submarine cable in the Baltic Sea: According to the Lithuanian government, the failure of the Estlink 2 submarine cable has no impact on the planned synchronization of the Baltic states' power grid with Western Europe.
02.01.2025, 12:52
SDA
Possible further damage to other power lines in the Baltic Sea also posed no threat to the planned infrastructural decoupling from the Russian power grid and connection to Western Europe in February, said Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas on Lithuanian radio. However, the disruptions could have "indirect effects" as they would pose challenges for reserve capacities.
Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia want to synchronize their electricity grids with the rest of continental Europe in February. Against the backdrop of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the three EU and NATO countries have stopped importing electricity from Russia. However, for historical reasons, they are still part of a common, synchronized electricity grid with Russia and Belarus - the so-called BRELL ring system, which dates back to Soviet times. This means that the Baltic states are virtually connected to the grid of the two neighboring countries to the east - this is considered a security risk in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.
Estlink 2 between Estonia and Finland was interrupted on Christmas Day after several outages and disruptions to power cables, gas pipelines and telecommunications connections in recent months. The Finnish authorities suspect sabotage. According to initial estimates by the network operators, it could take several months to repair the 170-kilometer-long connection line.
