Connecting to the West: Estonia seeks to sever its ties with Russian power networks

TALLINN - When talking about Estonian energy it isn't always implied one is talking about NRG, the American-owned company at the center of nearly every political debate and the topic of multitudinous headlines this summer.

Energy was the topic of a discussion last week at a lunch meeting with President Lennart Meri, Prime Minister Mart Laar, Minister of Economic Affairs Mihkel Parnoja and Eesti Energia chairman Gunnar Okk.

The five-hour-long meeting at the president's summer residence in Paslepa focused on opening Estonia's energy market to the West.

For Estonia, the men concluded, the establishment of power links to the electric networks of Western Europe is a priority for security policy. This also implies that Estonian power grids must be disconnected from those of northwest Russia, according to a representative in the president's office.

The problem now, explained Toomas Kiho, adviser to the president, is not that Estonia does not have enough capability to produce its own power. Its oil shale industry allows the country to produce more than enough electricity for itself. The problem, instead, lies in the infrastructure. The power cable system currently used must be literally severed from those in Russia, he said.

"It's a network. If something happens to the system in Russia, something is going to happen on the other end," said Kiho.

Placing a great deal of trust in the worn, Soviet-era cables is a dangerous game, he suggested. "The present system definitely contains more security risks than one we would form in the future."

Yet how exactly does Estonia plan to integrate itself to the so-called Western power grid?

First, it plans to construct an underwater cable to the Nordic countries, the president announced.

Kiho said that several cables must be built via Finland in order to gain access to a broader scope of Western power networks. However, the project is still more in the developmental stages. Cost calculations, logistics, and other technical details have not been settled, but he said he anticipates that Eesti Energia could begin constructing the new cable system as early as this fall.

At the meeting, the leaders also made clear that no matter what the outcome of the NRG saga, their priorities to open Estonia's market up would not be realigned.

Laar confirmed that the government of Estonia is fully backing the president's intentions and will support Eesti Energia in carrying out projects to create Western power connections as one of its political priorities.

"This is a great step in guaranteeing the economic security of Estonia," Meri said in a press release.

The talks also coincided with a telephone conversation between Laar and Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, in which the two prepped for a meeting of Nordic and Baltic heads of government to take place in Parnu on Aug. 28.

Lipponen reportedly said Finland was ready to give technical advice on energy matters to Estonia. They discussed the idea of an Estonian-Finnish power cable and a possible gas pipeline to connect the Nordic countries.