Energy | The Baltic countries plan to disconnect from the Russian-managed electricity network

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania announced on Thursday that they plan to disconnect from the Russian-run electricity grid and join the Western European system.

The prime ministers of the three countries signed a joint statement in which the countries commit to implementing the change by February 2025.

“The fact that the Baltic countries are still part of the Russian-managed BRELL electricity system is a threat to the energy security of the Baltic countries,” the prime ministers say in a statement.

The decision to join the continental European system was made in 2018, when the project received EU funding. The countries are connected to the electricity grid through Poland.

Lithuania tried to break its dependence on Russia already a year earlier, but committed to make the change together with the neighboring countries.

“Although we think that the electricity systems of the Baltic countries were ready for synchronization earlier, it is important that the project is implemented together,” said the Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Simonyte making a statement.

The countries have been dependent on Russia for energy since the days of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union occupied the Baltic countries from World War II until 1991, and the countries inherited the energy infrastructure from that time. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has accelerated the countries’ efforts to break away from Russian energy.