Lithuania has ended Russia’s electricity supply, the country’s electricity transmission system operator, Litgrid, said.
“The operator of the Nord Pool exchange has decided to suspend trading in Russian electricity through Inter RAO Group, which is the only importer of electricity from Russia to the Baltic States. From this Sunday no more Russian electricity will be imported. to Lithuania,” says a statement from Litgrid.
According to the operator, Russian imports account for 16% of the country’s total electricity consumption.
After Russian supplies cease, the country’s electricity needs will be met by local power plants and by imports from strategic EU partners via existing interconnections with Sweden, Poland and Latvia, said the company’s CEO Rockas Masiulis.
According to the Lithuanian Energy Ministry, this means that as of May 22, the country will have no Russian gas, oil or electricity. “This is a very important milestone not only on Lithuania’s path to energy independence. It is an expression of our solidarity with Ukraine,” Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys was quoted as saying by the news portal Delfi.
Separately, Russia’s state-owned company Gazprom confirmed this week that it has completely halted gas supplies to Finland. According to the company, the reason for the decision is that the Finnish buyer had refused to pay for the hydrocarbon in rubles, as stipulated by a Russian presidential decree from late March, and had started a legal battle over the contract on Tuesday.