The desynchronization process will begin in Lithuania, where connections to Kaliningrad and Belarus will be cut. By 9 a.m. on Saturday, February 8, all three Baltic states should be disconnected from the Russian and Belarusian grid (BRELL.) After that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will temporarily operate as an energy island, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.

"This means that we will not be connected to any synchronized area, and during this short period, we will conduct various tests together with our Baltic colleagues to ensure that we can manage frequency control in island mode, both now and in the future. Then, after these tests, around midday on February 9, the Baltics will connect to the mainland European frequency area," said Hannes Kont, head of Elering's synchronization program at a press conference on Wednesday.

While the Rescue Board has reminded people to be prepared for different scenarios over the weekend, Elering executives believe the switch between electrical systems does not pose any significant risks.

The weekend electricity consumption forecast is well known and relatively low, and production forecasts are in place.

The one-and-a-half-day island mode operation will not cause issues for Estonia, said Elering CEO Kalle Kilk.

"This entire period consists of a series of carefully pre-planned actions. There is no phase that is more risky than another. To ensure a smooth transition, we have already secured sufficient reserves in advance, and any failures that may occur during this period are not expected to have a major impact. For this reason, we have limited import capacity from the Nordic countries in advance — this means Estlink 1 as well as the NordBalt cable between Lithuania and Sweden are operating at reduced capacity," Kilk explained.

The old Narva power plants are ready to operate but will only be connected to the grid if market prices make it feasible, Kilk said.

Ahead of desynchronization, the frequency reserve market was launched earlier this week. These reserves will help Estonia maintain a balance between consumption and production independently.

"There are actually twice as many pre-qualified megawatts of resources as the daily demand set by Baltic system operators. The frequency reserve market prices in the first few days have been as expected — it is clear that the market is just beginning," said Erkki Sapp, a member of Elering's management board.

The Baltic countries are the only European countries to still be connected to the BRELL grid, a hangover from the Soviet occupation. The desynchronization progress has taken almost two decades to complete.

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