Historic moment: Baltic states synchronize with European electricity grid
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania "successfully" synchronized with the Continental European electricity grid on Sunday afternoon, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda said. "The period of political pressure and blackmail is finally over," he added.
"Moments ago I received great news – the synchronization of the Baltic states electricity systems with the continental European system has been successfully completed," Nauseda said at a press conference in Vilnius at just after 2 p.m.
"This is a historic moment marking the end of a long journey for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. From now on we have achieved full energy independence. The period of political pressure and blackmail is finally over," he said.
Nauseda was speaking at a press conference with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President of Estonia Alar Karis, President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs and President of Poland Andrzej Duda.
On Saturday morning all three countries desynchronized from the Russian BRELL ring electricity grid, a hangover from the Soviet-era. They then spent almost 36 hours carrying out tests before syncing with the European grid via Poland.
This means Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are now fully in control of their own networks and, for the first time, are fully integrated into the EU internal energy market. The Continental European network has more than 400 million consumers in 26 countries.
"Today history is made, we connect the Baltic states to our Continental European electricity grid. Electricity lines with Russia and Belarus are being dismantled," von der Leyen told the media. "These chains of power lines linking you to hostile neighbors will be a thing of the past – this is freedom."
Karis called the desynchronization "necessary and symbolic" and said Russia is an "unreliable aggressor country" and its behavior will likely continue.
"The more we cut our dependence from Russia the better for our security and sovereignty," the Estonian president said.
Karis added the Baltics have not bought electricity from Russia for a long time but now the reliance on the grid has completely ended.
The desynchronization process took 17 years due to the need to build new infrastructure and cost €1.6 billion, of which 75 percent was funded by the European Union.
The Baltic states were the last three EU member states whose electricity networks were still operating fully within the Russian and Belarusian system. The electricity frequency was centrally controlled by Moscow, leaving them vulnerable to Russia's weaponization of energy.
Synchronizing with Europe strengthens the energy security of the Eastern Baltic Sea region and the EU as a whole, the European Commission said in a statement.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the deadline was moved up by 10 months from December 2025 to February.
Watch the press conference below.
— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) February 9, 2025
Estonian politicians also commented on the landmark event.
Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) called the move an "important step"
"This is an important step to strengthen our energy security, further mitigating dependency on Russia. Synchronisation was well planned and executed. Thankful to everyone who worked for this," he wrote on social media.
Today, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the Continental European frequency band.
— Kristen Michal (@KristenMichalPM) February 9, 2025
This is an important step to strengthen our energy security, further mitigating dependency on Russia.
Synchronisation was well planned and executed. Thankful to everyone who worked for… pic.twitter.com/dk4dBwWJYI
Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said the process went "smoothly."
"Synchronization went smoothly as planned thanks to the years of preparation, cooperation & investment," he wrote.
The Baltic States have successfully joined Continental European Synchronous Area, now sharing our power grid with our partners & Allies.
— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) February 9, 2025
Synchronization went smoothly as planned thanks to the years of preparation, cooperation & investment. https://t.co/KQfu9dGgnu
Minister for Climate Yoko Alender (Reform) called the day "Baltic States' Energy Independence Day" and said it was a "historic step."
The Baltic States' Energy Independence Day
— Yoko Alender (@YokoAlender) February 9, 2025
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have successfully synchronized their electricity systems with the Continental European Synchronous Area. This is a historic step! pic.twitter.com/EGBCEiTuHj
This article was updated to add comments from Kristen Michal and Margus Tsahkna.
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Editor: Helen Wright
