On Saturday, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be disconnected from the electricity supply grid they currently share with Russia and Belarus. The three countries haven't bought electricity from Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, but remain connected to the grid. They will now switch to the European system.
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00:00The electricity in these cables is still connected with the
00:04Russian system, which also runs through Belarus.
00:08But that sits uneasily in Latvia, now a member of the
00:12European Union and NATO.
00:14So they are switching after long preparation.
00:17For energy sector people, it's quite high, because I was
00:22working very hard mostly for more than 15 years for this
00:26project happening.
00:28And this moment is very exciting for them.
00:30The Soviet Union built an electricity network connecting
00:34Russia, Belarus, and the Baltic states, Estonia,
00:38Latvia, and Lithuania.
00:40The huge scale meant electricity
00:42provision was stable.
00:43Other networks joined up further Eastern bloc countries.
00:50After the Soviet Union collapsed, the Baltic states
00:53could not follow Central European countries and quickly
00:56leave those networks.
00:58They had to build new infrastructure first.
01:03Now, accelerated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
01:06the project is ready to connect via Poland with the West.
01:11So since we are so well prepared, and we were
01:13preparing so many years, I think that technically, it's
01:17not something very difficult.
01:20We know what we have to do.
01:21We know the process.
01:22So technically, it's just a job which has to be done.
01:28And yet, some people here in Latvia are worried something
01:32might go wrong.
01:33Social media videos are circulating, urging people to
01:36stock up on candles for the switchover.
01:39Authorities here in Riga say this is a disinformation
01:43campaign, probably with roots in Russia.
01:47It's very hard to bring the information for society and to
01:52explain, because it's much more easier to believe that
01:54something will go wrong.
01:55There will be a lot of blackouts in Latvia.
01:57We are doing our homework.
02:00We are explaining for society.
02:01We have checked all the medicines, all hospitals.
02:05We check it in which stage they are.
02:06But we are physically going and see.
02:09We are explaining for municipalities, for all the
02:13NGOs, we have a conversation.
02:15Latvians should not expect a significant rise in costs, say
02:19electricity providers.
02:21At the most, a 5% increase.
02:25But this year's warm winter could even
02:28result in lower prices.
02:31It seems clear that there will be no lack of electricity here
02:35in the Baltic states after leaving the Russian network.
02:38They haven't bought Russian electricity since the start of
02:40the Ukraine war.
02:42But leaving the Eastern network and joining the Western one is
02:46not only a question of security, it has strong
02:49symbolism for the future.
02:52Also looking forward, these wind turbines on the Latvian
02:56coast are part of a move to expand renewable, independent
03:01energy sources.
03:02After connecting with the European grid, any excess
03:05generated on stormy days can now be sold westwards.