Electricity in the Baltic States has become 60 times more expensive than in Finland

Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia have faced interruptions and rising electricity prices after leaving the BRELL energy system, which is united with Russia and Belarus. Energy in the Baltic States has become about 60 times more expensive than, for example, in Finland, Estonian state broadcaster ERR reported on February 25.

The average daily exchange price for electricity in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has not fallen below 10 cents per kWh (or €100 per MWh) since these countries left BRELL. According to Nord Pool exchange data, when electricity costs €61.05 per MWh in the Baltics, the price in Finland, for example, is €1.12 per MWh.

Baltic grid operators do not recognize the connection between electricity prices and the disconnection from the BRELL energy ring. They claim that the price increase is mainly due to the weather and the situation on the markets.

"There is less wind this week, more electricity consumption due to cold weather and a slight increase in gas prices," explains the electricity and gas transmission system operator Elering.

The reasons also include an accident on the Estlink 2 power cable between Estonia and Finland.

Systemic error: the Baltics will face rising electricity prices

Why Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are disconnecting from the Russian energy system and becoming fully dependent on the EU

On February 8, the Baltic states disconnected from the joint energy system with Russia, which had existed since the Soviet era. The withdrawal of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia from BRELL did not affect the parallel operation of the energy systems of Russia and Belarus and the functioning of the energy system in the Kaliningrad region, the press service of the system operator of the Unified Energy System said.