2022-05-20
Russian electricity will no longer be traded in the Baltic states
On 20 May 2022, “Nord Pool”, the operator of the electricity exchange, decided to suspend the trading of Russian electricity by the companies of the “Inter RAO” group, which are the only ones importing electricity from Russia to the Baltic states. From Sunday, Russian electricity will no longer be imported to Lithuania.
“The suspension of electricity trade with Russia will not affect Lithuania’s electricity transmission system and its reliability. The country’s electricity needs will be met by local power plants and imports from strategic partners - European Union countries through the existing interconnections with Sweden, Poland and Latvia,” said Rokas Masiulis, the CEO of “Litgrid”.
R. Masiulis also points out that the markets of third countries are not linked to the European electricity market, and their offers do not affect prices in the Lithuanian trading zone, so the suspension of trade with Russia will not have a significant impact on electricity prices in Lithuania.
Imports of Russian electricity to Lithuania have been declining steadily in recent years. In 2021, electricity imports with Russia accounted for 17% of Lithuania’s total electricity imports and 16% of the country’s total electricity consumption.
The main electricity imports to Lithuania come from our partners Sweden, Poland and Latvia. In 2021, imports from Sweden amounted to 3.7 TWh, imports from Latvia amounted to 5 TWh and imports from Poland amounted to 0.85 TWh. Imports from these countries accounted for 83% of the country’s total electricity imports.
Lithuania has already taken steps to reduce electricity imports from third countries. On 3 March 2022, a decision was taken to reduce the amount of electricity imported from Russia to the Baltic states by 300 MW in order to ensure the stability and reliability of the transmission networks. Accordingly, the import capacity of the Lithuania-Russia interconnectors was reduced to 150 MW.
Commercial flows with Belarus via Lithuania’s existing connections are also suspended from 3 November 2020.
