Key projects
The LitPol Link started its operations in 2015. It was the first connection between the Baltic and Western European electricity infrastructures. This high-capacity connection (400 kV power transmission line) with Poland enables synchronous operation with the energy systems of other European countries and the development of the common European electricity market. Litgrid constructed the LitPol Link in cooperation with the Polish power grid operator PSE. Implementation of this strategic project required an extensive technical design work, while the construction itself was carried out during 2014–2015. In addition, 11 other smaller-scale network projects were completed.
The purpose of the NordBalt project[7] was to lay an inter-system power connection between the Lithuanian and Swedish power transmission systems. The connection's length is around 450 km, while its capacity is 700 MW. This connection is made of underwater and underground high-voltage DC cables and converter stations in Lithuania and Sweden. NordBalt started its operation in 2015. This connection between Lithuania and Sweden ensures more diversity in the supply of electricity, which reduced the price of electricity by 30% in the first year of its operation. Litgrid completed the strategic electricity project in collaboration with the Swedish power transmission system operator Svenska kraftnät.
Harmony Link is a planned high-voltage direct current (HVDC) connection between Lithuania and Poland. It total length is almost 330 km, while its capacity is 700 MW. The connection goes both underwater and underground. It will connect the Żarnowiec substation in the Polish Pomerania region with a newly built 330 kV Darbėnai switching station in the Lithuanian Kretinga region. The Harmony Link project will increase the capacity of the link with the Euroepan grid. The political agreement on the synchronisation of the Baltic electricity grids and the continental European grid was signed by the President of the European Commission and the Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Polish heads of state and prime ministers on 28 June 2018. The plan was to start the construction in 2023, but the project was delayed.
In 2019, the Lithuanian Government approved a list of 14 synchronisation projects, including the construction of the Harmony Link connection with Poland,[8] expansion of the existing LitPol Link connection[9] by adapting it for synchronous operation, and installation of 3 synchronous compensators. At the end of 2020, 3 projects had been completed: the expansion of the Bitėnai substation, completion of a new 110 kV overhead line Pagėgiai-Bitėnai, and reconstruction of the 330 kV power transmission line Elektrėnai Power Plant – Vilnius.[10] The Lithuanian electricity transmission system control and data centre was planned to be operation from 2025. The site was recognised by the Government as a project of national importance already in 2015. This centre was a strategic project in terms of synchronisation, because electricity transmission frequency was planned to be controlled from it. The data centre includes both the physical infrastructure, and the technological solutions to ensure cyber security.[11]
In February 2025, the Baltic states have permanently disconnected from IPS/UPS and connected to the Continental Europe Synchronous Area.[12][13]
