Lithuania has opted out of the so-called BRELL agreement, which obligates it to exchange emergency electric power reserves with Latvia, Estonia, Russia and Belarus.
Lithuania said its decision was due to safety concerns about the 2.4GW Astravyets nuclear power plant in Belarus, the physical launch of which seems imminent.
The decision will be implemented from next year and Lithuania will stop providing 100MW of power reserve to BRELL countries, but will also no longer receive 400MW of reserve from them.
Lithuanian transmission system operator Litgrid said it has found another way of securing that assistance — via its links with Sweden and Poland.
The Belarusian energy ministry said last week that nuclear fuel has been uploaded to the plant's first 1.2GW unit.