On Saturday morning all three countries desynchronized from the Russian electricity grid, a hangover from the Soviet-era. They are now operating as an independent "island" while tests are carried out before joining the Continental European grid.

Estonia's electricity and gas system operator said the Baltic TSOs are ensuring stable and secure operation of the grid, maintaining the balance between consumption and generation to regulate frequency.  

On Sunday morning voltage deviation tests will be carried out and during this time voltage levels will be deliberately fluctuated. "We will observe how automatic voltage regulation systems respond to these changes. Consumers will not notice these voltage level variations," Elering said.   

After the successful completion of the island operation test, the system will transition to the normal island operation mode.

The plan to synchronize with Continental Europe is scheduled to take place on Sunday afternoon at around. A ceremony will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania at 2 p.m. to mark the occasion.

Frequency management tests were concluded on Saturday to assess the countries' ability to ensure grid stability. 

Kilk: Anxiety rose after unexpected Lithuanian disconnect

Speaking to "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Saturday night, Elering CEO Kalle Kilk said the tests have been "successful."

But one moment of tension occurred when a Lithuanian power plant unexpectedly shut down. This caused a momentary drop in frequency within the system.

"The purpose of the tests is precisely to ensure that in the future, if an unexpected incident happens, it does not cause any problems. During the test, such an event occurred unexpectedly, but the conclusion is that everything went well because we managed to keep the system stable. Although it may not have been good for our health, as everyone in the control room at that moment felt a little anxious when they saw the frequency dropping in a completely unexpected place," he told the show.

Communication with Russia was "polite"

Communication with Russia during the disconnection process was polite, Kilk said.

"When we informed them that, well, now it is time to part ways, the response was entirely polite and all fine. And what has happened there [in Russia] since then, we actually have no information about," he said.

On Sunday, additional small tests will be conducted to see whether voltage regulation can be managed as successfully as frequency regulation was.

After that, the connection to the Polish power grid will take place, Kilk said.

That Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will only be connected to Poland via one link was anticipated and planned for, he added.

"When designing this system, it was taken into account that in the future, there is a high probability that at certain moments we will have to operate independently. Thanks to this, systems were built in the Baltic states that ensure our ability to function independently as a trio at any given moment," Kilk said.

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