On February 8, 2025, the Baltic countries completely disconnected from the Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (BRELL) energy grid and joined the unified European system. On February 17, a CTV broadcast explained how this allegedly affected electricity costs for these countries:
"Despite government assurances that disconnecting from BRELL would not lead to significant price hikes, electricity costs in the Baltic republics have already risen by 300% in just 10 days, now reaching €600 per megawatt-hour."
On the Nord Pool power exchange, where EU countries trade electricity, the price for the three Baltic countries did indeed increase significantly after February 8. However, the maximum price reached €500 per megawatt-hour, not €600 as reported in the CTV segment. Moreover, the price spikes were temporary, occurring on February 12 and 15 during peak demand hours, after which the costs decreased. The average price on February 12 was €230, and on February 15, it was €270. The average (mean) price per megawatt-hour in the first week after disconnection from BRELL went down to €192, which is 50% higher compared to the average price in the week preceding the disconnection. Subsequently, the price of electricity dropped to €138.
The Baltic countries stopped purchasing Russian electricity back in 2022. In February 2025, they disconnected from the power transmission lines. The fluctuations in electricity prices are linked to weather conditions and rising gas prices, stated a representative of the transmission system operator Elering in a comment to the Estonian national broadcaster ERR.