Lithuanian power grid operator Litgrid is preparing reinforced protection for the future Gizai substation — the key node of the Baltic energy connection with continental Europe, located 30 km from Russia’s Kaliningrad region.

According to the company’s chief executive Andrius Šemeškevičius, the approach to designing critical infrastructure has changed fundamentally: whereas previously only natural disasters were taken into account, the full spectrum of hybrid and conventional threats is now considered. The protection plan therefore includes:

  • Anti-ram barriers capable of withstanding the impact of an explosives-laden truck.
  • Sensors to detect tunneling that could be used by saboteurs.
  • Concrete ‘sarcophagi’ around transformers made of special plastic-fiber-reinforced concrete that does not crumble on impact.
  • Redundancy of key equipment so that the facility continues to operate even if some nodes are destroyed.
  • Spreading equipment across 35 hectares so that a single hit damages only a limited section.
  • Active cooling inside the concrete shelters.

According to Šemeškevičius, the substation is being designed to withstand an attack by multiple Shahed drones capable of carrying up to 100 kg of explosives. Russia has been deploying exactly these drones en masse against Ukraine’s energy and civilian infrastructure.

The substation will become a key element of the Harmony Link interconnection, which will complete the integration of the Baltic power grids with the rest of the EU following their disconnection from Russia’s energy system last year. For Lithuania, this line is a ‘lifeline’ in the event of a system collapse.

The additional security measures have increased the project’s cost by at least €48 million, and that figure may rise depending on ‘geopolitical circumstances.’ Lithuania will shortly ask the EU to cover at least half of the costs for Gizai. Lithuanian Energy Minister Lukas Savickas insists these costs should not fall exclusively on his country’s shoulders, while Polish Deputy Energy Minister Wojciech Wrochna has called on Brussels to change its approach to financing energy infrastructure protection for border states. Last year the Baltic countries and Poland requested €382 million from the EU for protecting the existing grid but received only €112 million.

Intelligence sources cited by Reuters warn that the Suwalki Corridor region — a narrow strip between Russia and Belarus connecting the Baltics to the rest of NATO — could become the site of a Moscow-orchestrated provocation aimed at testing the Alliance’s unity. Concerns have grown following a series of sabotage attacks on Germany’s power grid this month, for which Berlin has blamed Russia.