Estonia prepares to withdraw from BRELL, citizens urged to stock up on food and board games
Photo: Estonia is preparing to withdraw from BRELL, citizens are urged to stock up on food and desks (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
At the end of next week, Estonia will be disconnected from the joint power system with Russia and Belarus (BRELL). Civilians were urged to be prepared for possible blackouts, ERR reports.
“A problem can arise at any time: a cable can fail, a substation can catch fire. We have been living relatively calmly all along, far away from major natural disasters as if we were living in the clouds. So now we are prepared and hope that everything will be fine,” said Toomas Kapp, head of the Tartu water utility.
Rescuers, in turn, urged civilians to check their home supplies. Among the most important is non-perishable food that does not require long cooking.
“If we are talking about the basic necessity, then, of course, it is checking medicines. Perhaps you take something regularly, or you should take care of first aid, headache medicine, and band-aids. You also need alternative light sources and entertainment. Many people often forget about this. But cards or a board game could be a good idea,” said Kaisa Niilo, an employee of the Risk Prevention Bureau.
Disconnecting from BRELL
The Baltic countries are still part of the post-Soviet BRELL ring, which also includes Russia and Belarus, and continue to depend on the control center in Moscow and the Russian energy system. In 2023, it became known that they intended to disconnect from the general energy system.
In July 2024, the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy announced that the disconnection would take place in early 2025. Instead, the power systems of the Baltic countries are synchronized with the European power system ENTSO-E.
