Talks in Luxembourg last week on an in-depth study of the Latvia-Sweden-Gotland LaSGO undersea electricity cable proceeded positively. The talks involved Minister for Climate and Energy Kaspars Melnis and Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch (Ebba Elisabeth Busch), who is also the country's energy minister. The meeting took place within the framework of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council.

At present, the LaSGo interconnection is not included in the ENTSO-E Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP). In the bilateral talks, Kaspars Melnis stressed the need to work actively to secure the interconnection's inclusion in the TYNDP, which would open up wide-ranging opportunities to obtain substantial EU funding for a further in-depth socio-economic and technical assessment. Sweden shared Latvia's position and welcomed the vision, giving Latvia Sweden's political backing as the matter is taken forward.

"The bilateral talks with Sweden's energy minister Ebba Busch went well and culminated in a positive outcome – Sweden's support for continued cooperation between Latvia and Sweden on an in-depth study of the Latvia-Sweden-Gotland LaSGO undersea electricity cable. This is a historic moment in the progress of the talks for both countries. Further cooperation on studying the project will be carried out by the two countries' transmission system operators, including an assessment of the economic benefits on both sides," stressed Minister for Climate and Energy Kaspars Melnis.

In light of Latvia's current Energy Strategy 2050, which anticipates a rise in electricity consumption, establishing an interconnection with Sweden would be a strategic long-term investment that would ensure the successful import and export of electricity, as well as promoting the integration of renewable energy sources into the Latvian and Swedish energy systems. It would also allow balancing markets to be integrated more closely and improve their liquidity, as well as increasing security of electricity supply. Given the recent acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea, LaSGo would serve as an additional piece of infrastructure that would strengthen energy security in the region.

Latvia's energy system is well connected to those of Estonia and Lithuania. Thanks to its geographical location, Latvia has the potential to establish a connection with Sweden, strengthening the Baltic electricity infrastructure's links with Europe. In the talks, Kaspars Melnis stressed the benefits of the LaSGo project for both Sweden and Gotland, which currently has limited capacity and a long-standing connection to the Swedish electricity grid.