The European Commission will provide 125,000 euros for a technical study on the Baltic power grids’ planned synchronization with the Continental European network, with the final results of the study, estimated to cost 250,000 euros in total, to be released in June 2018.
A grant agreement under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) was signed on Wednesday in the margins of an informal meeting of the Energy Council, the European Commission said in a press release.
Lithuania’s Litgrid says that the study, commissioned by power transmission system operators of the three Baltic countries and Poland, is being conducted by scientists from the University of Gdansk. “The European Commission is committed to make decisive progress on this issue in this mandate, working towards implementing strategic energy infrastructure projects and addressing the various aspects required to end the energy isolation of the Baltic Sea region. Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete said in the press release. “This is what European solidarity on energy is all about,” he added.
The grant agreement was signed by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), on behalf of the EU, and the Lithuanian, Latvia, Estonia and Polish transmission system operators.
The European Commission and the Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Polish energy ministers agreed last December that a final political agreement on the Baltic grids’ synchronization should be signed in June 2018 in the presence of EU leaders. The synchronization project is expected to be completed in 2025.
