 "Baltic nations free themselves from the shackles of Russian power grid, switch over to EU networks")
After months-long tension, Europe’s Baltic nations have finally cut themselves off from the Russian electricity grid for the first time in history. This marked the end of a precarious, decades-long energy partnership with Moscow. On Sunday, Baltic nations, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will connect to the EU’s power system, 20 years after joining the regional bloc, Politico reported.
With this, the Soviet-designed power grid network will now cover only Russia and Belarus. The move occurred amid a flurry of misinformation with, leaflets printed in Russian appearing in apartment buildings across the region, warning that “there will be no electricity” and urging residents to buy candles. However, in reality, the Baltic nations have not been buying power from Russia or Belarus for years.
Hence, there will be no sudden rise in electricity prices. “The Russians had been threatening our electricity supply for years,” said Ingrida Šimonytė, who served as Lithuania’s prime minister until December and oversaw preparations for the switchover. “This was the last, sad remaining connection from our past that was still partially managed by people in Moscow,” she added.
EU welcomes the switch
EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said the switch would “strengthen the security of supply” for the whole 27-country bloc. “It sends a strong signal that the EU stands together,” he said ahead of the changeover. “The EU has heavily invested in this project, over 1.2 billion euros. These are the kind of projects that make our Energy Union stronger," the EU officials.
The three Baltic nations were occupied by the Soviet Union as a part of the pact with Nazi Germany in 1940. They eventually gained independence in the 1990s when the Soviet Union collapsed. As they make the switch, the three nations will operate their power grid in isolation for a day before synchronizing with the European network. That will let them import electricity from EU countries via Poland if needed.
Now one of the major concerns Baltic nations will be facing is this new era of potential sabotage to nearby undersea power cables. In the past few months, several oil tankers have dragged their anchors through these cables sparking concerns that Russia might be plotting to sabotage these cable networks.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“Since February this year, we’ve observed a different approach from the Russian special services,” said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center, the government agency tasked with managing emergencies and building resilience. “Instead of so-to-speak ‘soft measures’ like disinformation or cyber, they’ve turned to more kinetic actions,” he added.
Vitkauskas said that since Russian-linked vessels have unfettered access to the Baltic Sea, they threaten critical infrastructure, Politico reported. The Lithuanian official went on to suggest a “concentrated passage in the sea where exactly those ships can cross,” making it “easier for us to monitor." Gravel or other materials could reinforce undersea cables in the area.
“The power grid operators are confident they have done what is needed to make this work without a problem, even despite some of the Baltic Sea infrastructure challenges," said Marek Kohv, a former Estonian military official now heading research at the International Centre for Defence and Security in Tallinn.
“However, Russian disinformation has attempted to play on people’s fears, with some ordinary people worrying they have to stock up on water and tinned goods,” he added. “In reality, this information operation is the real danger, not the synchronization with the European network.” Hence, it will be interesting to see how Russia plans to navigate the situation.
With inputs from agencies.
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