Lithuania Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in lithuania, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Energy
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Until a few years ago, Lithuania had no alternative gas supply or electricity interconnectivity with EU countries, except for limited interconnections with Latvia.  In order to reduce Lithuania’s dependence on energy supplies from a single source, the government implemented a number of projects. A liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Klaipeda was completed at the end of 2014, and at the end of 2015, electricity interconnections between Sweden and Lithuania (NordBalt) and between Poland and Lithuania (LitPol Link) became operational. The Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania (GIPL), a gas pipeline connecting the two countries, started commercial operation in May 2022. Almost three quarters of the liquified natural gas (LNG) that Lithuania imports through its Klaipėda Independence terminal comes from the United States, and the government seeks to further increase U.S. LNG imports to expand deliveries of U.S. LNG to Ukraine. Lithuania is a key partner in delivering U.S. LNG to Ukraine to enhance energy security and diversify supplies away from Russia. Under a partnership with Poland’s ORLEN, U.S. LNG is regasified at the Klaipėda terminal and then transported into Ukraine’s gas system, strengthening Ukraine’s strategic reserves for upcoming winter seasons.  

Since December 2009, due to the permanent shutdown of the state owned Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Lithuania’s electricity generation structure has changed significantly, and Lithuania has changed from being a net exporter of electricity to a net importer of electricity. In response to the war in Ukraine, Lithuania passed a law in June 2022 banning Russian natural gas imports. Lithuania also halted all import of Russian electricity in May 2022, after the main Russian provider, Inter RAO, was suspended from trading on the Nord Pool power exchange.

The energy sector is particularly important to the Lithuanian economy, and energy security is a strategic priority for the government. The government has put forward a plan to become a net energy exporter 2050, based entirely on renewable and zero carbon energy sources. Energy sector projects underway currently include upgrades to the electricity grid that will reinforce grid connections with Continental Europe, decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, development of renewable energy sources, and building battery storage to balance variable energy sources. Lithuania outlined the need for nuclear energy from small modular reactors (SMRs) in its energy strategy and signed an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy in 2024 to move forward with this goal. The country plans to build up to five small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2038 to provide reliable, consistent baseload energy and intends to select an SMR technology by the end of 2028.   

Lithuania has also taken steps to liberalize its electricity market and ensure a consumer’s right to choose their electricity supplier and to purchase electricity for a real market price.  Lithuania’s regulated tariffs benefit only household consumers, but these tariffs are being abolished. On January 1, 2010, an electricity market was officially launched in Lithuania (the first among the Baltic states) — a crucial step towards the common Baltic electricity market. A restatement of the Law on Electricity, which entered into force in February 2012, created legal preconditions for the integration of Lithuania’s electricity market into the Nordic market. However, in response to unusually high electricity prices in the summer of 2022, the government decided to postpone the third and final stage of its multi-year plan for the transition from regulated to competitive electricity supply for household consumers until 2030.

Leading Sub-sectors

  • Small modular reactors
  • Energy saving and storage technology
  • Cogeneration technology
  • Smart grid technology
  • Opportunities
  • Info on opportunities: TED Europa
  • Resources
  • Innovation Agency
  • Invest Lithuania
  • Energy Ministry  

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