Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will disconnect their electricity networks from the Russian and Belarusian system (BRELL) in February next year, Baltic officials have confirmed.

“The desynchronization process, which has lasted almost 20 years, will end at the beginning of August, when the Baltic countries inform Russia and Belarus that they do not want to participate in the new annual period starting next February,” said the Estonian Deputy Foreign Minister. Energy Jaanus Uiga. This was reported by national media on Tuesday.

The Baltic countries will join the Continental European (UCTE) network on February 9, 2025, the day after the disconnection from BRELL. Previously, desynchronization was planned to take place at the end of 2025.

This transition is not expected to impact electricity customers.

Disconnection from the Russian and Belarusian power grid, which is largely controlled by Moscow, was declared a strategic goal by Baltic prime ministers in 2007. These three countries consider dependence on Russia for electricity as a threat to their national security.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are the only EU member states not currently connected to the UCTE network. The three countries were integrated into the Soviet power grid after they were annexed by the USSR as "composite republics" during World War II.

In 2018, the Baltic countries signed an agreement with the European Commission and Poland, which provided funding to upgrade their network infrastructure to join UCTE.

The three states agreed to use the existing LitPol power transmission line with Poland, as well as a new direct cable under the Baltic Sea. The agreement required the Baltic states to secede from Russia by 2025.

In May 2023, following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Baltic prime ministers agreed to speed up withdrawal from BRELL. The total cost of the transition is projected to be 1.6 billion euros ($1.72 billion), three-quarters of which will be paid by the EU.

The Kaliningrad region, a Russian exclave between Lithuania and Poland, has prepared for the transition by building new gas-fired power plants.