Russia cuts power to another EU country

RT reported, on May 22, Litgrid – the operator of the power transmission system of Lithuania – announced, Russia has stopped supplying electricity to Lithuania.

Inter RAO, the sole exporter of electricity from Russia to Lithuania, has confirmed the suspension of deliveries. Earlier this month, the Nordic branch of Inter RAO also stopped supplying electricity to Finland.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Energy initially announced that it would stop buying electricity from Russia on May 20.

“According to the decision of the operator of the Nord Pool electricity exchange, the business of electricity produced in Russia conducted by Inter RAO (through its subsidiary Inter RAO Loiuva) will cease from May 22” – Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

According to Rokas Masiulis, Litgrid CEO, after Russian supply shutdown, Lithuania plans to meet electricity demand through local power plants and imports from other European countries, especially Sweden, Poland and Latvia. According to the company, Russian imports account for 16% of Lithuania’s electricity consumption.

Inter RAO also confirmed the suspension of trading on May 20, according to TASS.

“Inter RAO has received notice from the exchange operator Nord Pool about the suspension of its subsidiaries due to the risk of not being able to pay Russian electricity bills,” Inter RAO said.

Last month, Lithuania became the first EU country to eliminate Russian gas imports, and it also refused to buy oil from Moscow.

Before Lithuania, Russia cut off electricity to Finland. At the same time, Russia completely cuts off gas to Finland starting on May 21.