The electricity transmission system operators of the Baltic States and Poland have jointly prepared an application for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) co-financing in energy for phase 2 of the Baltic States electrical network synchronisation project. The total costs exceed 1 billion EUR, of which 895.4 million EUR are intended to be covered by European Union co-financing. Such co-financing is the largest in CEF’s history in the energy sector. Both Latvia and the other participating Member States have expressed their support for this application.
The European Commission has identified the implementation of the Baltic States synchronisation project as one of the priority projects in the European Union. The aim of the synchronisation project is to implement the necessary technical conditions for the synchronisation of the Baltic States’ electrical networks with the continental European network through Poland by 2025.
The Ministry of Economics appreciates the participation of AS “Augstsprieguma tīkls” (AST) in the implementation of the second phase of the Baltic States synchronisation project, as it contributes significantly to the integration of the Baltic States electricity market in the region, increases energy independence from third countries with which the Baltic States have so far been working in synchronous mode, as well as strengthening energy security.
Given the fundamental role of this project in the energy sector, it is planned that maximum co-financing, representing 75% of the eligible costs of the project, will be supported by the European Union. The remaining project costs will be covered by transmission system operators; the project will not be financed from State budget funds. The most important work to be carried out under the project will be the construction of the high-voltage direct current underwater cable Harmony Link between Lithuania and Poland, as well as the installation of synchronous compensators. Similarly, substantial investments will be required for the construction and modernisation of infrastructure in all participating countries, which is an integral prerequisite for project implementation.
At the same time, we remind that the European Union co-financing of 323 million EUR has already been granted for phase 1 of the Baltic States’ electrical network synchronisation project in 2019.