TALLINN — Eesti Energia has concluded an export contract with Lietuvos Energija that will allow it to produce 10 percent of Lithuania’s energy needs starting next year.

“In the electricity sector, today is an important day,” Sandor Liive, CEO of Eesti Energia told local media yesterday. “We concluded a contract for next year that will guarantee that 10 percent of energy consumption in Lithuania will be provided by Estonia.”

Liive said the company plans to eventually start selling electricity direct to individuals and enterprises on top of the grid.

Under the deal, Eesti Energia export around one terawatt-hour of electricity to Lithuania.

The deal is important for Lithuania as it has to shut down its Soviet-era nuclear reactor in Ignalina at the end of this year. Buying electricity from Estonia means less reliance on Russia, which has been an unreliable energy partner for other Eastern European countries.

However, in the lead up to the deal, the Lithuanian goverment acknowledged that it could not be entirely independent from Russian energy sources and to get ready for price fluctuations.

Lithuania can produce around 70 percent of its own electricity on its own, but plans to outsource the remaining 30 percent to surrounding countries, the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy said.

Meanwhile, during a meeting between Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine pledged its support for Lithuania in the energy sector.

Ukraine’s president assured Lithuania’s president, who underlined the importance of cooperation in the electricity supply, that Ukraine would be able to supply the deficient quantity of electricity via Belarus after the closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. According to Yushchenko, Ukraine is prepared to sign contracts concerning electricity quantities.