Lithuanian energmin: submarine cable damage incidents do not threaten synchronization

VILNIUS - Damage to a submarine electricity cable between Finland and Estonia over Christmas as well as possible incidents of damage to other interconnections in the Baltic Sea do not pose a threat to the synchronization of the Baltic countries with the continental European electricity grids, which is scheduled for February, Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas has said.

"There were various scenarios about a decade ago, including synchronization with the Nordic countries, in which case there would have been a threat. In this case, since the synchronization is through Poland, there is no such technical threat," Vaiciunas told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Thursday.

According to him, damage to submarine interconnections could have an "indirect impact" on synchronization, as it would pose challenges to reserve capacity.

Vaiciunas also said that the NordBalt electricity cable connecting Lithuania and Sweden was currently being monitored and patrolled, and other plans were being analyzed, including preparations for restoring the links if necessary.

The EstLink 2 power interconnection in the Baltic Sea was damaged on December 25. Preliminary reports from Finnish authorities indicate that sabotage is the leading theory behind the incident, as three other underwater cables were cut on the same day.