OREANDA-NEWS. January 15, 2015. Taavi Veskimagi, head of Elering, the state-owned power transmission system operator, said the Baltic nations could fully split from the Russian electric grid by 2025.

“As we operate as part of a joint electric system with Russia the danger of supply disruptions and disruptions to service are great. We do not accept the situation where the power line frequency of the Estonian electricity system is held by Russian power stations. 2025 is the first realistic deadline to split the Baltic and Russian power grids,” he told Delfi.

He said synchronizing with mainland Europe could prove to be even cheaper than the costs Russia presents for keeping the line frequency of Estonia's power system.

As to the gas market, which Elering entered by buying a majority stake in the Estonian gas network, Veskimagi said the three Baltic nations set up a working group to unite their gas markets by 2020. That would create a market a third bigger than Finland. With the Balticconnector gas pipeline with Finland, an even bigger market would be created, attracting more gas suppliers.