European energy cooperation on the agenda for Baltic TSO visit to NESO’s Electricity National Control Centre

As part of our efforts to foster greater energy cooperation between the UK and Europe, NESO welcomed senior leaders from the Baltic and Danish transmission system operators (TSOs) to Wokingham this month. 

The CEO's of the Latvian (Augstsprieguma Tīkls AS), Estonian (Elering AS) and Lithuanian (Litgrid AB) TSOs, together with senior management from Danish TSO Energinet, joined our CEO Fintan Slye. They discussed the transition towards clean power in their respective countries, as well as system changes since earlier this year when the three Baltic countries completed a historic process of disconnecting from Russia's electricity grid and synchronising with the European continental electricity network. 

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During the visit, they spoke with our Resilience and Emergency Management, System Operations, Markets, and Corporate Affairs teams, sharing best practices on topics such as balancing mechanisms and future interconnection projects. 

One topic the group talked extensively on was sector security and resilience. Following two recent incidents in the Baltic Sea that damaged two interconnectors, as well as events like the Iberian blackout and North Hyde substation outage, the TSOs discussed how they are bolstering security to avoid future incidents. Investments in new digital resources to track and monitor emerging threats, and increased stakeholder dialogue with representatives from government and security officials were all mentioned as good examples for strengthening security.

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All four countries also highlighted their current progress to facilitate sustainable energy, with three of the TSOs on track to reach national clean power targets before the end of the decade. This effort is in-line with the UK’s goal to rapidly transition the country to a low-carbon electricity system by 2030. 

Welcoming the TSOs to the UK, Fintan Slye said:

“It’s a pleasure to welcome European friends to our Electricity National Control Centre. Sharing best practices between transmission system operators is essential to helping achieve a clean, affordable, and secure energy system in Great Britain and across Europe. I look forward to continuing to engage and collaborate.” 

Rolands Irklis, CEO, Augstsprieguma Tīkls AS:

“We are living in time when our energy systems are transforming and requires more flexibility and digitalisation. Today electricity system operators also have to develop their resilience to ensure safe operations and security of supply. This visit was great opportunity to learn from each other how to navigate through these new challenges and to provide our societies with safe and reliable service.“

Rokas Masiulis, CEO, Litgrid: 

"We were pleased to share the experience of successful Baltic Power system synchronization with Continental Europe synchronous area and rapid development of renewable energy sources in Lithuania. Sharing of experience on power system security and resilience gives us opportunity to apply best practices across the Europe.“

Kalle Kilk, CEO, Elering: 

“In geopolitically challenging times, it is reassuring to see that system operators do not isolate themselves within their own countries, but rather share experiences in strengthening grid resilience and supporting development of the climate-neutral economy. Our strength lies in cooperation and shared values.“

Kim Willerslev Jakobsen, Senior Vice President, Energinet: 

"I greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet with senior leaders from TSOs in the UK, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, and to discuss some of the challenges that system operators face across Europe. We truly value the inspiration and exchange of experiences with our fellow TSOs."

The visit was kindly supported by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

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