Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — former Soviet states that are now EU and NATO members — have been keen to make the change since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The war struck fear into the small Baltic countries that they too would be targeted. The staunch Ukraine supporters also worried that Russia would blackmail them via the electricity system.
“This is about security,” EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said Saturday while visiting Tallinn for the “historic” grid change.
“No European country should be dependent on Russia for anything,” he told reporters.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko also hailed the move as a “significant event for the whole of Europe”.
“Such steps deprive the aggressor of the opportunity to use the electricity sector for blackmail and political games,” he said.
The Baltic states have been operating as a so-called “energy island” after decoupling from the Moscow-controlled electricity network early Saturday.
They have since tested their frequency, or power levels, to assure Europe their system is stable, according to Lithuania’s state-run grid operator Litgrid.
The countries were due to join the European power grid at 1200 GMT on Sunday, it said.
They will integrate into it via Poland.
“We will join our electricity system with continental Europe — where we belong,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on X.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to attend a ceremony with Baltic and Polish leaders in Vilnius on Sunday.
A total of 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 billion) — mostly EU funds — have been invested in the synchronisation project across the Baltic states and Poland.
Lithuanian engineer Aras Valiukas, 45, was happy about the grid switch, calling it “symbolic”.
“We have disconnected from the Soviet Union,” he told AFP in downtown Vilnius.
In Latvian capital Riga and the eastern city of Rezekne, people set off fireworks in celebration, an AFP journalist saw.
The Baltics had long been preparing to integrate with the European grid but faced technological and financial issues before the Ukraine war gave the project a jolt of urgency.
They stopped purchasing Russian gas and electricity after the invasion but their power grids remained connected to Russia and Belarus, and so controlled from Moscow.
This left them dependent on Moscow for a stable electricity flow, which is crucial for factories and facilities requiring a reliable power supply.
