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4 I Companies & Markets bne March 2025
The decision by the Baltic States to cut themselves off from the Soviet-era BRELL power ring has left the Russian Kaliningrad exclave vulnerable, as it is now entirely dependent on gas supplies that transit Lithuania. / bne IntelliNews
Kaliningrad becomes an energy island after Baltic States cut Russian grid connection
Ben Aris in Berlin
The Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea has become an energy island after the Baltics States cut themselves off from the Soviet-era BRELL power grid on February 8 and has become vulnerable to sanctions thanks to its dependence on Lithuanian gas transit.
The BRELL ring links the power grids of Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and was set up in Soviet times. After years of dithering, the Baltic states finally formally disconnected their power grid from Russia's controlled northern electricity grid and intend to connect to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) grid, breaking long standing energy ties with Russia.
"Today, history is made. We connect the Baltic states to our continental European electricity grid. Electricity lines with Russia and Belarus are being dismantled. These chains of power lines linking you to hostile neighbours will be a thing
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of the past," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a trip to Vilnius to mark the occasion. "This is freedom: freedom from threats; freedom from blackmail.”
One of the more remarkable stories from the Ukrainian war is that Ukraine managed to hook up to the ENTSO-E only one day before the Russian invasion. After Russia destroyed half of Ukraine’s power generation capacity in 2024, this winter would have been much more difficult, if Ukraine could not rely on imported power supplies from the EU to get through the heating season.
“Today is a big day for our region and for Europe as a whole. The Baltic states – good friends of Ukraine – have officially disconnected from Russia’s power grid. Their energy systems are now fully synchronized with the continental European network,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his evening address following the change.