The energy independence of the Baltic states from Russia has come at a price: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are recording record-high electricity costs. On February 11, 2025, the average electricity price in the region jumped to 230 euros per megawatt-hour, a drastic increase from the 85 euros seen a year earlier.
“Decoupling” with financial consequences
Since February 8, 2025, the Baltic states have officially been disconnected from the Russian BRELL power grid and are now receiving energy primarily from Poland through the EU network. While politicians like Estonia’s Climate Minister Yoko Alender and Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda hail the move as a “historic victory for democracy” it is the rising electricity costs that are most evident to the public.
Data from the energy exchange Nord Pool confirms the trend: while a megawatt-hour cost an average of 62 euros when the countries were still connected to the Russian network, the price surged on February 9 and reached a record high of 483 euros per megawatt-hour in the afternoon of February 11 – more than seven times the price of the previous year. In the previous week, the average electricity price jumped from 126 euros per megawatt-hour to 191 euros per megawatt-hour, setting a new high for the year 2025.
An expensive goodbye
The Baltic governments argue that the decoupling was necessary to prevent a geopolitical blackmail by Russia. The project, which connected the countries to the EU network, required investments of 1.6 billion euros, spread across Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland.
However, while the political elite boasts of their achievements with celebratory statements, citizens and businesses are worried about the drastic price development. Especially energy-intensive industries in the region are facing a problem: production costs are skyrocketing, threatening their competitiveness.
Even EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently acknowledged that the energy costs in the EU are structurally higher than in the US and China. “Exorbitant prices” are increasingly burdening the European industry. The EU plans further investments in renewable energy to ensure long-term independence and stable prices in the future.
The departure from Russian power is not just a geopolitical statement – it also hits the wallets of consumers.