NIB finances first electricity link between Lithuania and Poland

NIB has signed a 10-year-maturity, EUR 50 million loan agreement with AB Litgrid for the construction of an electricity transmission line between Lithuania and Poland. The LitPol Link will be the first interconnection between the Lithuanian power system and the electricity infrastructure of Western Europe.

The 163-kilometre line between the towns of Elk in Poland and Alytus in Lithuania will connect the electricity infrastructure of the two countries for the first time. This will make it possible for Lithuania, as well as the other two Baltic countries of Latvia and Estonia, to export and import electricity through Poland to Western Europe.

“The LitPol Link will help to diversify electricity supply and, together with other strategic energy projects, integrate the Baltic states into European energy networks”, says Henrik Normann, NIB President & CEO.

The interconnection scheme consists of three elements—two substations in both countries, a high-voltage, direct-current, back-to-back converter station in Alytus and a high-voltage overhead electricity transmission line. Approximately 51 km of the route will extend into Lithuania, with the rest of it continuing in Poland. The LitPol Link is expected to be completed by the end of 2015 and will have a capacity of 500 MW.

Litgrid AB is the Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator, implementing the project together with its Polish counterpart PSE.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information please contact

Jarno Virtanen, Senior Manager Product Unit, at +358 10 618 0435,

Dimitrijs Alehins, Senior Communications Specialist, at +358 10 618 0296,