Lithuania dismantling power transmission lines to prevent Belarusian nuclear power from entering the EU

By 2020 Lithuania is expected to have finished dismantling Europe’s largest power transmission line (PTT), which links the country with Belarus – reported Euroradio, citing Lithuania’s Energy Minister, Žygimantas Vaičiūnas.

By dismantling the power lines, Lithuania hopes to prevent the export of electricity from the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) to EU countries. Furthermore, Lithuania is engaged in talks with the EU to ensure equal competitive conditions for EU producers and those from third-world countries. Vilnius also intends to prevent electricity from BelNPP or other similarly hazardous power plants from entering the EU market (Lithuania itself intends to build a new modern nuclear power plant to replace the Ingalina NPP that was closed in 2009 – JAMnews).

Lithuania’s project will amount to almost EUR 30 million. The project provides for the reconstruction of two substations in the north-eastern part of Lithuania and the dismantling of a 750kV power transmission line heading to Belarus. Lithuania shares as many as five power transmission lines with Belarus. The major and the most powerful of them is a 750kV transmission line, which is a part of the so-called ‘nuclear power plant circle’.

Minister Vaičiūnas specified that there were no other similar power transmission lines in Europe. After it is dismantled, the other four power transmission lines (two of them with a capacity of 330kV and two with a capacity of 110kV) will be operating as long as Lithuania remains within a common synchronous area with Russia and Belarus. After the power grids are synchronized with Europe, there will be neither technical, nor commercial power flow.

Unlike Lithuania, Latvia hasn’t given up on electricity exports from Belarus. According to the Lithuanian Energy Minster, this problem is now being discussed.

Lithuania constantly criticises the construction of BelNPP in Ostrovets. In September 2017, the Lithuanian government approved a plan for block imports of electricity from BelNPP, designed to obstruct its construction.