Four transmission system operators – Polish PSE, Latvian AST, Estonian Elering and Lithuanian Litgrid secured 170 million euros from Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to finance the planned investments under the Baltic Synchronisation projects to connect the Baltic States with the Continental European Synchronous Area (CESA).
The total costs of the Phase 2 Part II projects of the Baltic Synchronisation are estimated at 227 million euros. The fund will be spent on grid reinforcements, frequency regulation equipment and upgrading of IT control systems enabling the Baltic states to desynchronise from Russia and start operating in synchronous mode with the CESA.
“The project application prepared jointly with our Baltic and Polish colleagues received the highest rating among the five infrastructure construction projects that were supported in this round of funding”, underscored Gunta Jēkabsone, the Chairperson of the Augstsprieguma tīkls AS (AST) Board.
“It proves that a secure, stable, and timely synchronisation of the Baltic power systems with the Continental European Synchronous Area is important not only regionally, but also on the European level. The funds will be used to increase the security of the electricity transmission network and supply, as well as to ensure frequency regulation and control […]”, she noted.
Indeed, the additional infrastructure in the second stage of the synchronisation will increase the security of supply in the region, foster renewable energy project development and contribute to the strengthening of the internal European energy market by creating new business opportunities.
In 2019 and 2020, the Baltic synchronisation project has been granted more than 1 billion euros from CEF, the key EU funding instrument, established to promote the development of high-performing, sustainable and efficiently interconnected trans-European energy networks.
The funds have been used on national grid reinforcements, construction of submarine HVDC cable Harmony Link and installation of synchronous condensers in the Baltic States. The synchronisation of the Baltic States’ power system with the CESA is planned to be finalised by the end of 2025.
