Litgrid, Lithuania’s electricity transmission system operator, has proposed at least ten flexible power plants with a combined capacity of 800MW to support regional electricity supplies during major network disruption. Its national resilience concept would allow seven parts of Lithuania’s grid to operate independently if the main transmission system became unavailable. The proposed generation would provide an emergency operating capability alongside existing assets, rather than a group of plants committed to continuous production.
The concept was presented on 10 November alongside a consultation on isolated operation services. The new facilities would be located near important transmission nodes, while modifications to existing plants and storage assets would help selected regions maintain or restore supply. Implementation depends on changes to the legal and regulatory framework, service auctions and the subsequent construction and commissioning of equipment. No developer has yet been selected through the proposed auctions.
In the proposed configuration, the national system would comprise seven electrical islands organised around Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda–Mažeikiai, Šiauliai–Panevėžys, Alytus, Jurbarkas and Utena. These regions would remain interconnected in normal operation. If a severe disturbance affected the main 330kV transmission network, selected areas could be separated and supplied locally, reducing reliance on damaged transmission routes. Regional generation, switching equipment and control systems would have to work together to maintain an acceptable balance between load and available power.
Operating an isolated electrical system requires more than having power plants within a geographical boundary. Generation and demand must be balanced within that boundary, while frequency, voltage and protection settings remain within acceptable operating limits. A disturbance that removes a major transmission connection also changes the electrical characteristics seen by equipment and protection systems. Litgrid’s proposed services are designed around the capability to restore and maintain regional supplies when those constraints arise; the detailed engineering requirements will be important to subsequent tenders and commissioning.
Litgrid’s first phase covers the period from 2028 to 2033 and envisages isolated operation capability for Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda–Mažeikiai and Šiauliai–Panevėžys. Some limited capability is expected from 2028 using existing equipment and upgrades, with dedicated fast-response services introduced as the scheme progresses. A second phase starting from 2033 would extend the approach to at least seven regions, adding further restoration services. The 2033 date is therefore a transition between phases, not a confirmed deadline for every regional installation or an assurance that all consumers would retain power in any emergency.
The proposed procurement model is technology neutral. Private market participants would compete in auctions for the right to provide regional isolated-operation services, with successful bidders expected to build the necessary flexible generation within five years and provide the service for 15 years. The assets could also participate in ordinary electricity markets when they are not required for emergency operation. This separates the commercial sale of electricity from the contracted obligation to be available for regional resilience, a distinction that will shape project finance and operational scheduling.
Plants providing regional reserve power will need to respond to sudden changes in the network and maintain supply within the operating requirements set by Litgrid. The operator is keeping its technology choice open, with equipment assessed through performance requirements rather than a nominated fuel or generating technology. Existing plants and storage could form part of the wider arrangement, although energy availability, start-up behaviour and sustained operation will differ between technologies. The auctions and technical specifications must establish which combinations can meet the required service duration and response performance.
A major loss of transmission infrastructure can remove the routes normally used to transfer electricity between regions or import it from neighbouring networks. Litgrid’s islanding model would allow a viable network section to be separated, supplied by local generation and operated within the limits of the demand it can sustain. The operator says it drew on Ukrainian experience of keeping electricity systems functioning under severe disruption. The engineering challenge is to establish reliable restoration and protection arrangements without assuming normal grid connections will be available.
Litgrid estimates that procuring the new services could add 0.67 euro cents per kilowatt-hour to the transmission tariff after 2033. It also expects flexible generation to help limit wholesale electricity price peaks, although neither effect has been measured in an operating regional-islanding scheme. The public consultation closes on 10 December 2026, and a market presentation is scheduled for 25 November. Subject to legislation and regulatory approval, auctions could begin in 2027, with a revised service concept provisionally due in January 2027.
The service auctions will determine which generators, developers and technologies enter the project pipeline. Connection studies, switching arrangements, start-up performance, fuel availability, environmental approval and protection coordination must then be resolved for each regional system. The proposed 800MW of capacity provides a scale for planning, while the ability to balance supply and demand after separation from the 330kV network will ultimately determine how much of each region can operate independently. Litgrid’s two-stage plan provides milestones through and beyond 2033, with individual plant and service commitments still to be awarded.
