Lithuania: Application for synchronisation financing to be filed in autumn
The Baltic countries and Poland signed a political agreement in June on the synchronisation of the Baltic power systems with that of Central Europe. The synchronisation project is being implemented according to plan, with the financing application due to be filed by autumn, Lithuanian Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas said.
Vaičiūnas confirmed during a meeting with members of the European Commission on Thursday that the four countries were ready to submit the funding application in time — by Oct. 11.
"We are working hard with Latvia and Estonia to submit the applications in early October," Vaičiūnas told BNS Lithuania. "It will be the first time when applications will be submitted for financing — not studies, or research, but for specific projects."
According to the minister, these projects are currently being coordinated at the technical level, and the synchronisation project's technical details should be known by late summer.
"I was once again assured that the Commission is ready to fund these projects, and I confirmed that we, together with the other Baltic states, are ready to submit applications in time — by Oct. 11," he said.
The existing 1,000 Mw double-circuit, alternating current LitPol link will be used for the implementation of the project together with a new 700 Mw direct current asynchronous power link laid at the bottom of the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Poland.
The technical solutions must be detailed by 30 August, and are to be endorsed by the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan (BEMIP) high-level group shortly thereafter.
Decision to be made by next February
Poland and the Baltic states will submit an application to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) by 21 August, and a joint Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) application will be submitted by 11 October.
The European Commission is expected to make its decision by February 2019.
ENTSO-E is expected to issue the synchronisation conditions in 2019, which the four countries will implement in 2020-2025. The Baltic states are expected to synchronise their power systems with Continental Europe in 2025.
The project is estimated to cost approximately €1 billion.
The Baltic grids currently remain part of the post-Soviet BRELL ring, which also includes Russia and Belarus, and remain dependent on the control centre in Moscow and the Russian electricity system.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS
