LITGRID - Notification on material event

LitPol Link to receive EUR 27 million of EU funding

Vilnius, Lithuania, 2015-07-14 12:28 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The European
Commission and European Union (EU) member states have approved financial
support in the amount of 27.4 million euros for the LitPol Link power
interconnection between Lithuania and Poland. The project will be financed
under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), an instrument for funding European
infrastructure networks development. The sum accounts for 67% of the amount
applied for. A total of more than 149 million euros has been allocated for EU
energy projects. This CEF call was primarily focused on funding various studies
of energy sector, while the funding of specific project implementation works
has only been allocated to three projects. The LitPol Link has been recognized
as the most eligible for funding project under this CEF call. 

“Joint efforts helped to achieve the main goal to mitigate the impact of
investments on the electricity transmission rate. Therefore the decision to
fund LitPol Link project will benefit all electricity users. Cooperation of a
number of different people and public authorities has been very important in
ensuring funding for the LitPol Link works. The first step was made in 2013,
when the project was listed under the EU Projects of Common Interest. The
National Commission for Energy Control and Prices then worked together with the
Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) to identify
opportunities for the project's funding, while the major role in the
coordination of actions was assumed by the Ministry of Energy,” said the
Lithuanian Minister of Energy Rokas Masiulis. 

The CEF framework provides funding to energy, transport and telecommunication
projects listed under the EU Projects of Common Interest. In 2014, under the
CEF regulations, Litgrid addressed the countries to benefit from this project -
Sweden, Norway and Germany. ACER monetized the cost of reliability of the
Lithuanian power system for the first time during an independent cost-benefit
assessment, and concluded that the benefits brought by the LitPol Link project
would exceed the investments. The CEF has been addressed for compensation of
the project costs in order to mitigate the impact of investments on the
electricity transmission rate. 

“Looking into opportunities, preparing the application, and combining interests
with other project stakeholders to benefit from it along with the national
regulating authorities and their association, was a very intensive and
difficult task that had to be implemented along with the development of the
process regulations,” said Mr. Daivis Virbickas, Chairman of the Board and CEO
at Litgrid. 

The share of LitPol Link project costs borne by Lithuania is 108 million euros,
which covers the investment into the power transmission line from Alytus to the
Lithuania-Poland border and the HVDC back-to-back converter station near
Alytus. 27.4 million euros of these costs will be covered by the CEF funding. 

The LitPol Link project is part of the BEMIP plan on the Baltic energy market
interconnection that aims at linking the power systems of the Baltic Sea region
countries together and eliminating isolated energy islands in the European
Union by 2015. This link will connect the power systems of Lithuania and Poland
for the first time in December 2015. 


         Erika Brazaitytė
         Communications manager
         Ph. +370 612 24034
         Email: erika.brazaityte@litgrid.eu