Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys: We were the determined fighters for our energy independence in our region

Press release, 29 May 2022

At the meeting of the Committee on Democracy and Security of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), Dainius Kreivys, Minister of Energy of Lithuania, presented Lithuania’s perspective on energy security and energy resilience.

Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas

According to Mr Kreivys, today Lithuania imports no oil, no gas and no electricity from Russia. ‘Lithuania does not pay a single penny to Russia for energy resources. We have an oil terminal and an oil refinery, which is owned by Polish PKN Orlen. Since 1 April 2022, PKN Orlen closed all imports of Russian oil and switched to imports from the Middle East, Africa and other destinations. Lithuania has a LNG terminal. Via the terminal, we import gas from the US, Norway and other countries. The terminal ensures gas supply not only to Lithuania, but to the broader region as well. We import a huge part of electricity via the interconnectors between Sweden, Poland and Latvia. At the same time, we generate a substantial amount of renewable electricity. Although we have electricity interconnectors with Russia and Belarus, we import no electricity via these interconnectors,’ said the Minister of Energy.

According to him, today we are completely independent from Russia’s energy resources. But it took us time and huge effort to find ourselves in the position we are now.

‘Lithuania regained its political independence in 1990, but, in terms of energy, we were fully integrated into the Soviet energy system at that time,’ said the Minister. He said that the dependence on Russia’s energy was a huge challenge for Lithuania. In order to achieve real independence from Russia, it was necessary to dismantle energy integration links.

According to the Minister of Energy, Lithuania still has two challenges in the electricity sector. ‘First, the country still operates in a single synchronous zone with Russia, Belarus, Latvia and Estonia, the so-called BRELL ring. Second, after the decommissioning of the Ignalina NPP, Lithuania lacks electricity generation,’ Mr Kreivys stressed. He said that the only way left to get our electricity generation was renewable energy.

‘And we are quite successful at this. In 2025, Lithuania is going to have 50 % of its energy consumption generated from renewables, and in 2030, 93% of the electricity consumed will be produced by solar and wind. Lithuania aims to reach 7 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030,’ stated the Minister of Energy as regards the sector in question.

Mr Kreivys also stressed the importance of two electricity interconnectors with Sweden and Poland. They became operational in 2016, thus ensuring energy security and additional electricity supply. ‘In 2019, the Baltic States, Poland and the European Commission reached a decision to synchronise the Baltic States with the continental European grid by 2025. The project is still under implementation, but our goal is to finish it even faster by the beginning of 2024. At this date, we must be disconnected from the Russian electricity system,’ underlined the Minister of Energy.

When summing up, Mr Kreivys noted that the Lithuanians were the determined fighters for their energy independence in the region. ‘Since 1990, we have considered Russia to be an unreliable country that uses energy dependence as a lever for political domination,’ said the Minister of Energy. According to him, since 2007 Lithuania has had an energy independence strategy, which is updated every four years. Thus, according to Mr Kreivys, only a strong political will and the ability to achieve strategic aims could overcome Russia’s will for geopolitical domination.

For more news on the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly taking place in Vilnius on 27–30 May 2022, please read HERE.

Rimas Rudaitis, Adviser, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 239 6132, e-mail: [email protected]