wiredInUSA October 2017

Baltic power link

Although the Baltic power grid will eventually need to be synchronized with European power grids, the Estonian transmission system operator Elering believes the grid’s ability to function autonomously has to be increased. Elering’s chief of communications, Ain Köster, told a Baltic news service: “Since the three Baltic countries and Poland have been unable to reach an agreement regarding synchronization with the western European power grid, it would be reasonable to increase the capability to function as an energy island if Russia should cut us off from its power grid.” He added that if Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania increase that capacity, they would gain extra time to reach an agreement on synchronization. On 19 th September, European commission vice-president for energy union Maros Sefcovic visited emergency reserve power stations built by Elering to increase the reliability of the power grid. The main topic of the meeting was the desynchronization of power grids. Following the meeting, Elering CEO Taavi Veskimagi said: “Our first priority is to find a short-term solution which would keep lights on in Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian homes if, for some reason, we should

unexpectedly separate from the Russian joint power grid.”

Elering’s chief of communications, Ain Köster

The European Commission’s joint research center believes that the best synchronization option for the Baltic states is via two LitPol Link interconnections, costing up to €960 million.

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wiredInUSA - October 2017