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On Monday, the President-led State Defense Council discussed Lithuania’s positions in negotiations with Latvia and Estonia on a new methodology for electricity trading with third countries, according to the authorities, which will help ensure a boycott of the Belarusian electricity in the European Union.
According to the current methodology, when the Baltic countries receive electricity through the Latvia-Russia connection, the Belarusians manage to circumvent the boycott, says Lithuania.
This week, representatives from the Baltic countries and the European Commission will discuss the new methodology proposed by Lithuania and the data provided by Vilnius, which should show that Astrava’s electricity is actually imported.
Scanpix / AP Photo / Astravo Nuclear Power Plant
“The trade takes place in the Latvian commercial zone, which (Astravo electricity – 15 minutes) is listed on the Russian company Inter RAO. They market it as Russian electricity, and Lithuanian laws do not work on the territory of Latvia, ”Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys told reporters after the meeting of the State Defense Council.
He later clarified only the suspicion of Inter RAO’s role in circumventing the Belarusian electricity boycott, as the company is “the main trader on the Russian border.” D.Kreivys added that he has no data that Inter RAO Lietuva contributes to the scheme
According to the minister, Lithuania proposes to provide in the new methodology that Latvia could trade with Russia only in the amount of electricity that the connections of these countries are permeable.
“The point is that Latvia can trade as much as can physically flow through its connections,” Kreivys said.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Dainius Kreivys
Lithuanian officials have been publishing data collected from the analysis of electricity flows a few months ago, which should show that Belarus and Russia are circumventing the boycott of electricity from the Astravas nuclear power plant that the Baltic states are seeking.
This data has also been sent to Latvia, through which, as mentioned, the Baltic States trade in electricity with third countries, but Riga does not receive official responses while evaluating the data.
“It just came to our attention then. This week will be the first meetings, after which we will be able to comment further,” said D. Kreivys.
Inter Rao Office in Lithuania
Lithuania hopes to reach an agreement on the new methodology by the summer and, if it fails, has a plan B, the minister said. According to him, it would allow decisions to “take themselves” and “take the wheel into their own hands,” but details of the conservative delegate minister’s intentions were not detailed.
According to D. Kreivis, not much electricity from Astravas has been supplied to Lithuania recently, because the power plant itself is closed for a long time during testing, and electricity imports from third countries are now distributed between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus itself. .
“The participation of Belarus has decreased, but it does not change the essence, because the law is violated,” said D. Kreivys.
It refers to a law passed in Lithuania a few years ago that prohibits the import of Astrava electricity.
Darius Kuliešius, adviser to President G. Nausėda on national security issues, told the press conference that, in addition to the methodology, the possibility of the Baltic States organizing tests of the isolated electricity system in 2023 was also discussed.
Photo by Luke April / 15 minutes / Darius Kuliešius
He also stated that it was decided to increase Lithuania’s independent electricity generation capacity and, together with representatives of private companies, to ensure that “we would produce a sufficient amount of electricity independently in Lithuania”.
This mainly refers to Lithuania’s plans to increase the volume of onshore wind and solar power plants, as well as to implement an ambitious wind farm in the Baltic Sea.
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