Baltic countries notify Russia and Belarus they will exit the Moscow-controlled electricity grid

The electricity grid operators of the three Baltic countries on Tuesday officially notified Russia and Belarus that they will exit a 2001 agreement that has kept Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania connected to an electricity transmission system controlled by Moscow. The Baltic countries already have stopped buying electricity from Russia, and in line with a plan announced last year following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Baltic countries will shift their grid connections next February to the main continental European energy network. Utility operators Elering of Estonia, AST of Latvia and Litgrid of Lithuania said jointly that the exit notice was signed in the Latvian capital of Riga on Tuesday. The joint agreement with Moscow and Minsk will end Feb. 7,