"To each his own": Scandinavia pays for cheap electricity, the Baltic states - for Russophobia

Sergey Kondratiev, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the internet portal "Baltnews" on the problems of electricity supplies to the Baltic states.

In an interview with Baltnews, Sergei Kondratiev, a senior expert of the Institute for Energy and Finance, recalled that Lithuania and Poland are already connected by the LitPolLink line, and this power line (PTL) will also be used if the Baltic states decide to withdraw from the BRELL power interconnection. But this line will not be able to provide a reliable connection between the Baltic States and the energy interconnection of European countries UCTE in case of sudden disconnecting one of the submarine cables, for example, SwedLink (Sweden - Lithuania) or EstLink 1 and EstLink 2 (Estonia - Finland).

“For reliable power supply of the Baltic countries, it is important to have reserve capacities and redundant power lines. Both SwedLink and the cables connecting the Estonian and Finnish power grids have been suddenly disconnected several times over the past few years. At such times, Lithuania had to increase purchases of electricity from Russia and Belarus to ensure uninterrupted power supply," the expert noted.

According to Sergei Kondratiev, if the Baltic states leave BRELL, the likelihood of abnormal situations and frequency fluctuations will increase, which carries serious risks for both consumers and power grid companies. Of course, Estonia, Lithuania or Latvia will not plunge into darkness immediately after leaving BRELL. There will be electricity, but there is no way to smooth out fluctuations at the expense of BRELL.