Lithuanian Energy Production

After the Soviet Union dissolved, Lithuania has inherited a very strong power industry. This sector has a capacity that can surpass the internal needs of this country. However, this sector was supervised by reform-shy and conservative administrators. Because of this, energy production has steadily decreased, and the country found itself importing more and more energy from Russia.

First Steps

The economic and political leaders of the country face a huge problem in this sector. To solve this, the government primarily aimed at ensuring stable power delivery for all consumers. At the same time, energy policies in the 1990s looked at solving practical problems related to the country’s power supply.

Lithuania’s first energy policy was approved and designed by the government in 1994. Aside from ensuring a stable power supply, it stipulates the gradual demonopolization of Lithuania’s energy industry and the diversification of its energy supply. At the same time, it forecasted a moderate increase in the country’s energy consumption.

Good Improvements

Although reforming the energy sector was a very painful process, it produce some outstanding results. In 1997, the government ceded control of central heating facilities to corresponding municipalities to decentralize the energy sector. At the same time, it started to privatize and restructure both the gas and electricity supply industries.

Many people in Lithuania today stress that these reforms saved the industry from a total meltdown especially in larger cities. Although there is limited consumer involvement, heating facilities continued to remain functional. At the same time, they have been upgraded and are steadily being enhanced to use renewable energy sources.

The European Union

The policies implemented in the decade following 1995 were greatly affected by the country’s preparation to gain membership in the European Union. Energy policies were revised to achieve a gradual integration into the European Union’s energy system and to meet the EU’s demands. One of these demands is to steadily increase the development of renewable and local energy sources.

With the aim of gaining entry into the European Union and decreasing the vulnerability of the energy sector, the Lithuanian government started to implement projects that include energy links to Sweden and Poland. At the same time, these policies have been developed to make CHP plants more economically attractive. This policy is also expected to help support many small CHP plants that primarily use renewable energy resources.

Other Important Parts of the Energy Policy

Lithuania’s new energy policy stipulated the renovation of 70 percent of buildings up to the year 2020. This is a great chance to help introduce low-carbon insulation and technologies. This helps effectively increase the energy efficiency of the entire country.

Policy Developments From 2011 to 2012

Aside from implementing an energy policy that continue to evolve to meet the country’s needs and achieve European Union membership, there have been a number of recent policy developments.

One of these developments is making sure that 23 percent of total energy consumption will be renewable by 2020. It also requires the development of new schemes to make sure there are favorable conditions to meet this goal. This can be achieved by constructing a new gas storage facility to help strengthen Lithuania’s energy infrastructure.