Monday 28 September 2015

Poland and Lithuania combine efforts in their two joint projects: construction of electricity transmission line and gas pipeline

As the history likes to repeat itself, two countries that used to be one kingdom*, Poland and Lithuania are tightening their relationship in the gas and electricity market. Two projects of a strategic importance are on their finish line and if the forecast will fulfill itself, the whole European Union will benefit from this “re-unification”.

The two mentioned projects are:

Interconnector for the electricity transmission (so called transmission line between Lithuania and Poland)
Gas pipeline

The connecting transmission line between Lithuania and Poland is an investment of a strategic significance, as it will not only enable the exchange of electricity between Poland and Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), but also will close the so-called “ Baltic Ring “ ( the transmission line built around the Baltic sea). Once fully operational, the interconnector will increase network reliability and security of energy supply.

The transmission line connecting Poland and Lithuania

For Poland, it is very important investment. The structure of the transmission system in the north-eastern part of Polish is one of the weakest ones in the whole country and is not sufficient to counteract the factors threatening the safety of the system operation in the event of any unforeseen failure. A small number of existing stations and the linear relationship between them makes that there are no alternative routes of energy flow.

The project can be characterized as multi staged, with many sub-investments to be done in order for the all construction to be successful. One of the most important stages of the construction is building a 112-kilometer line of 400 kV , from Polish town Elk, towards Polish-Lithuanian border, to then connect to Lithuanian town of Alytus. Due to differences in parameters occurring in the Polish transmission systems and in Lithuania, it is necessary to build a converter station back-to-back, which will allow the merger of two non-synchronized transmission systems. Once this line is complete, it is necessary to build transformation stations to enable free flow of the electricity.

EU has recognized the importance of the construction and partially subsidized the investment with 725 milion zloty ( out of 1.8 billion zloty of total investment). The rest of the costs is split between two transmission system operators, Polish PSE and Lithuanian LitGrid.

Gas pipeline between Poland and Lithuania

Another area of co-operation between Poland and Lithuania has been the gas pipeline connecting both countries, mainly due to the opening of the LNG terminal in Swinujscie. Based on the feasibility study, Polish-Lithuanian gas pipeline connection was qualified for investments of strategic importance fo r the European Union, and thus was included in the budget of the EU for 2014-2020. Implementation of the project is dependent on the continued support of the project by the European Commission.

As points out portal Defence24, two projects constitute the creation of a common energy market of the EU, and at the same time, they contribute in increase of energy security of both countries. Internally, Polish and Lithuanian projects will enable the elimination of the so-called “energy islands” and provide an opportunity to enhance the structure of electricity and natural gas. At the regional level, cooperation translates to build a common EU energy market and in the future will affect the ability to put into practice the solidarity mechanisms of energy in the event outages raw materials or electricity.

*Poland and Lithuania used to function as The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally called the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (also known as the Kingdom of Poland, or just Poland). The Kingdom was ruled by a common monarch, who was both the king of Poland and the grand duke of Lithuania. It was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th- and 17th-century Europe