Energy, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Lithuania

"The total result since the launch of the interconnectors is 69 million euros. This is the amount that Lithuanian consumers have paid less for electricity. That makes 30 million euros per year on average," Daivis Virbickas said at a news conference.  

According to the CEO, LitPol Link's availability amounted to 99 percent last year. NordBalt's availability stood at 84 percent, but rose to 94 percent in the first quarter of 2018.

Work on replacing NordBalt's onshore cable joints is scheduled to start in July. "We'll be replacing the joints from Jul. 30 through Oct. 9. This is a shock to the market, which is preparing for that," Virbickas said.  

Litgrid says that a more stable link will in the long run lead to lower price volatility in the market and a lower supply risk. The costs of the replacement will be covered by Sweden's ABB, the manufacturer of the cable. The Swedish company also built the converter stations in Nybro and Klaipeda.

The 550-million-euro, 453-kilometer cable between Sweden and Lithuania was laid in late 2015 and the 370-million-euro, 500-megawatt link to Poland was completed in December 2015. Both interconnections have been in operation since early 2016.