After decades of wrangling, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have synchronised their grids with the EU. Here's how it happened and what it means for the region.
In a momentous shift that has been decades in the making, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have succeeded in decoupling their electricity grids from Russia, synchronising them with the EU's power network. This milestone, which has been in the works for nearly two decades but was not finalised until February 8, marks a significant geopolitical and economic achievement for the Baltic states, which have long sought to sever the energy ties that bound them to Moscow.
For the region, decoupling from a grid controlled by Russia is more than just a technical or infrastructural feat. It is a statement of sovereignty, an embrace of European integration in an era of heightened tensions with Russia – and a signal that these nations are now looking west instead of east.
While the process itself was highly technical, the moment was emotionally charged for many. Workers reportedly used a crane to cut wires in Latvian town Viļaka, near the Russian border, and handed out cuttings as souvenirs to a cheering crowd of onlookers.
"We've reached the goal we strived for, for so long. We are now in control," the Lithuanian energy minister, Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, told a press conference. "We will never use it again. We are moving on," added Latvia's energy minister Kaspars Melnis.
Recognising the importance of energy security in the face of Russian aggression, the EU was a strong advocate of the synchronisation project. In total the project cost around €1.6bn, with more than €1.23bn of that made up of grants from the EU. The remainder of the financing was provided under the Recovery and Resilience Facility in Latvia and Lithuania.
The Soviet legacy
The Baltic states' electricity grids were developed in the 1950s and were designed to integrate seamlessly with the broader Soviet energy infrastructure as part of the USSR.
Following their independence in 1991, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania inherited electrical grids that were synchronised with Moscow's system; specifically, the unified power system (UPS) of Russia and its neighbouring republics. In 2001 the BRELL energy ring synchronised the power systems of Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania under Moscow's centralised dispatch.
This meant that for nearly three decades following independence from the Soviet Union, the Baltic states remained dependent on Russia for much of their electricity. This was in spite of their growing desire to integrate more fully with the west, and long after they joined both NATO and the EU in 2004.
Rokas Masiulis, CEO of Lithuanian electricity operator Litgrid, tells EEI that the idea of disconnecting from the Russian system and synchronising with Europe had been "floating in the minds of energy professionals here as soon as Lithuania regained its independence in 1990", but both politics and economics prevented it from becoming a strategic goal until 2007.
As well as being highly symbolic, interconnection with Russia presented a considerable security risk to the three countries. The Baltic states realised that reliance on Russia for their energy needs made them vulnerable to potential political leverage, which became increasingly evident as the Kremlin's approach to foreign policy became actively aggressive. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 in particular was a key moment for the region. The issue of energy security became a pressing concern.
"The synchronisation of the Baltic states with the continental European networks is one of the most urgent priorities for EU energy infrastructure," says Masiulis. "It is the most ambitious energy independence project in the Baltics – the entire EU – and will allow for independent, stable, and reliable frequency control of the Baltic states’ electricity grids."
A question of security
Tõnis Vare, managing director of the Union of Electricity Industries of Estonia, says that the project is purely about energy security. From a technical point of view, "disconnecting from the larger system and connecting to the smaller system does not seem to be reasonable", he says.
"But desynchronisation from BRELL is not only a technical exercise," he adds. "It's about having control over your own devices and not being controlled by a party which you cannot trust."
The first significant step came in 2007 when the Baltic states began to push for greater energy integration with the EU – not long after Russia launched a major cyber-attack on Estonian organisations, including parliament, banks, ministries, newspapers and broadcasters following a dispute over the relocation of a Soviet-era statue.
But it wasn’t until 2014, with tension growing between the EU and Russia over Ukraine, that the urgency of energy independence became more apparent.
Russia has a history of weaponising energy specifically, particularly against Ukraine, says Jason Moyer, research director at Washington DC-head-quartered think-tank the Wilson Center. "The government recognises that it's a lever it can hold over countries in the region," he says. "Having control of your electricity grid located in Moscow is just not a good idea for a NATO member – you need electricity independence."
Then in February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine – and things reached a fever pitch. The Baltic states have not bought electricity from Russia since 2022, but their connection to BRELL left them dependent on Moscow for the management of energy.
It is not just the Baltic states that remained vulnerable to Russia long after its invasion of Ukraine. Despite the hundreds of sanctions meted out against Russian companies, individuals and entities, the whole of Europe has struggled to wean itself off Russian gas. Between early 2022 and the end of 2023, EU countries slashed their imports of Russian fossil fuels by 94 percent, from $16bn per month to around $1bn. Despite this, EU imports of Russian liquefied natural gas increased in 2024 to 16.5m metric tonnes – up from 15.2m in 2023.
The long road to decoupling
The desynchronisation project had initially been planned for completion by early 2025, but a further escalation from Russia forced the timeline to be accelerated. In the past 18 months, damage has been reported to at least 11 subsea cables running under the Baltic Sea, leading Nato to increase its presence in the area in late 2024.
While European leaders were initially reluctant to play the blame game, they eventually admitted that a pattern had begun to emerge, which European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also acknowledged during a ceremony to mark the grid synchronisation occasion on February 9.
The decoupling process was not straightforward. The challenge of disconnecting from Russia's power grid and connecting to the EU's electrical network required years of technical, regulatory, and financial coordination.
In 2017, the European Commission and the Baltic states jointly unveiled a roadmap to Baltic-EU grid interconnection, outlining the technical steps necessary. The plan also included the construction of new interconnectors, including an overland high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link between Lithuania and Poland, known as "Harmony Link", as well as plans for the "LitPol Link" and the "EstLink" to connect the Baltic countries with neighbouring EU grids. While the latter two are already operational, the Harmony Link is not scheduled for completion until 2030.
One of the primary technical challenges of decoupling the Baltic grids from Russia was ensuring that the process would not compromise the stability of electricity supply in the region.
"It's been a huge effort between the public and private sector, including various energy entities within the Baltic states, the EU, and the Russian and Belarusian governments," says the Wilson Center's Moyer. "There were all kinds of backup measures in place in the event of a failure or breakdown – not that anyone was expecting anything to go wrong."
As well as ensuring that the Baltic region's energy needs could be met in times of high demand, synchronising with the EU means that electricity generated in the Baltics can be reliably exported into western Europe. This two-way possibility integrates the Baltic systems as full partners in the European system.
The Baltic states also had to modernise their energy infrastructure to meet EU standards, including upgrading transmission networks, building new interconnectors, and ensuring a stable flow of electricity. "To de-couple from the Russia-controlled IPS/UPS system, the electricity transmission system operators of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland – Litgrid, AST, Elering, and PSE – had to strengthen electrical grids, investing in new lines and substations, and new equipment such as synchronous condensers, battery storage, and system control tools," explains Litgrid's Masiulis.
In total it took more than 40 individual projects across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to complete the process.
Looking ahead – and west
The successful decoupling of the Baltic energy grids from Russia has far reaching implications for the region, both in terms of energy security and broader geopolitical considerations.
First and foremost, the decoupling ensures that the Baltic states are no longer vulnerable to Russian control over their electricity supply, greatly reducing the risk of supply disruptions due to political tensions. This enhances the region's overall energy security and resilience, particularly in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the threat of further Russian aggression in Europe.
Integration with the European grid also allows the Baltic states to tap into a larger, more diverse energy market, increasing their access to renewable energy sources and reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. This is a key step towards achieving the EU's broader energy transition goals and carbon neutrality targets.
The Baltic states are moving fast in their transition to renewables: in 2018, around 60 percent of their electricity came from fossil fuels. As of today, more than 72 percent of their power comes from renewables instead, with wind generating 28 percent of all consumed energy across the three nations.
EU interconnection will "foster the development of renewable energy in the Baltic states and Poland, as newly installed power lines, substations, and synchronous condensers will increase the ability of transmission grids to support a higher share of renewable sources in overall electricity generation", Litgrid's Masiulis explains.
However overall, it does not change that much in practical terms, explains the Union of Electricity Industries of Estonia's Vare. "Crossborder trade is already conducted with northern and western neighbours, and it has stopped with eastern neighbours, including Russia and Belarus," he says. "All the Baltic countries should continue developing renewable power generation and storage, and keeping sufficient levels of dispatchable capacity in the system – but these tasks are common for the entire region."
For the EU, the successful synchronisation of the Baltic grids is a testament to the power of solidarity and cooperation in achieving energy independence. It also strengthens Europe's energy security by integrating the Baltic states into its wider electricity market, ensuring that energy resources are distributed more efficiently across the region.
