Sparking tension: Baltic electricity plan turns tables on Russia

With Russia accustomed to wielding energy supplies as a political weapon, the possibility that its westernmost outpost of Kaliningrad could become reliant on the West to keep the lights on has Moscow seething, straining already tense ties over Ukraine.

 

The undersea cable to Sweden will bring in cheaper Scandinavian power, while the line to Poland has the added significance of being a key piece of infrastructure that could eventually be used to integrate the three Baltic states into the European electricity grid. 

Lithuania broke Gazprom's politically-charged monopoly for gas supplies by building a liquefied natural gas terminal that opened at the beginning of this year and is now on the verge of reducing its dependence on Russian electricity. 

That is because electricity grids are much like a symphony -– they need a conductor to be in harmony. As long as Lithuania remains synchronised to the Russian grid, Moscow can easily supply electricity to Kaliningrad.

DYI Comments:  The geopolitical game is afoot as U.S./U.K./NATO/EU solidify their gains in the Baltics and place heavier costs onto Russia in order to hold onto their outpost Kaliningrad. There is no direct route into Kaliningrad so in the end this outpost will be dependent upon Swedish and Polish electricity.

This is the smaller tactics of the overall grand strategy of the U.S. led U.K./NATO/EU in their attempt to first deny Russians naval access to the worlds oceans and long term plan to break Russia to a fraction of its size.

DYI