wiredInUSA February 2019

Image: Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania

Plans for Baltic link

The management boards of the Polish and Lithuanian transmission system operators PSE and Litgrid have committed to undertake development activities for the construction of Harmony Link, a new Polish- Lithuanian submarine HVDC cable. The agreement establishes the principles of cooperation within the preparation phase of the project. This phase encompasses activities to support an investment decision, following which the procurement for the construction of Harmony Link would be launched. The decision is expected in 2020. “The cross-border energy infrastructure project agreement, signed between Polish and Lithuanian partners today, is yet another clear sign of political and professional accord; of working hand in hand to help the three Baltic states gain full control of their electricity networks,” said Miguel Arias Cañete, EU commissioner for climate action and energy.

Initiation of the Harmony Link works is directly linked to the political roadmap for synchronizing the Baltic states’ electricity grid with continental Europe. That agreement was signed in June 2018 by the president of the European Commission and heads of state and government of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. The roadmap assumed the technical solution for synchronizing the Baltic states’ system by 2025, consisting of synchronization via the existing link between Lithuania and Poland (LitPol Link), complemented by a new undersea cable between Poland and Lithuania. While the process of synchronization will be under the supervision of ENTSO-E Regional Group Continental Europe, the construction of the Harmony Link will remain the responsibility of PSE and Litgrid.

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wiredInUSA - February 2019