Baltic States – CIS, Energy, Energy Market, Lithuania, Russia

Lithuanian power transmission operator Litgrid says Kaliningrad has carried out similar tests in the past, adding that the latest test will be monitored.

"Our specialists are evaluating the effect of such testing on the power market and the system's reliability, and are paying attention for Lithuanian residents not to feel the impact of such testing," told Jurga Eivaite, spokeswoman for Litgrid.

In her words, the planned testing will be longer than previous ones and will take three days. During that period, power trading will stop but the BRELL ring will continue operating.

Rytas Staselis of the National Lithuanian Energy Association says the ongoing processes in Kaliningrad should be taken very seriously, taking into account the volumes of electricity imported from this area.

"It’s very important to see what consequences the closed capacities between Kaliningrad and Lithuania on May 24-26 will have. It's the Russian initiative and they claim it's the Kaliningrad system's isolated operation testing," Staselis told.

The Baltic states are set to perform a 12-hour test of their power systems' isolated operation on June 8.

The Baltic grids are still part of the post-Soviet BRELL ring, which also includes Russia and Belarus, and remain dependent on the control center in Moscow and the Russian electricity system.