OREANDA-NEWS Lithuania will disconnect from the Russian electric grid to test the possibility of isolated operation of the power system. This is reported by the network operator Litgrid.

The country will disconnect from Russian suppliers for the first time on Saturday, April 22. Testing will last ten hours, from 11 am to 9 pm. Electricity supply to consumers will be provided by local Lithuanian power plants, as well as suppliers from Poland and Sweden.

"Testing the isolated operation of [the power system] is an important part of the preparation for joining the synchronous network of continental Europe (it serves 24 EU countries — approx. <url>). The test has been coordinated with Latvian, Estonian and Russian operators of electrical systems," said Litgrid CEO Rokas Masiulis. According to him, the shutdown will pass unnoticed for consumers.

Lithuania provides transit of Russian electricity to the Kaliningrad region, therefore, as a result of the shutdown, the Russian region will be temporarily cut off from supplies, Bloomberg reports. The Russian Inter RAO has prepared for the Lithuanian tests and has increased its energy capacity in the region in advance.

Now the power grid of the Baltic countries is connected to the Electric Ring system of Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (EC BRALL), which is regulated in Russia. However, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia intend to switch to European power grids and start working in synchronous mode with Poland, Germany and other states of continental Europe until 2025. To ensure the transition, the Baltic States received more than a billion euros from the EU budget.

Earlier, the Baltic States refused to supply Russian gas. In April 2022, Latvia and Lithuania took this step, and Estonia joined them from the beginning of 2023.