The Economy Ministry and the Energy Ministry should analyze the need for further financing of the project within six months. If the decision is to stop financing it, some other method of settlement for the shares in Litgrid will be chosen.
EPSO-G, a company controlled by the Energy Ministry, committed itself to paying 750 million litas under an agreement on the acquisition of a 97.5-percent stake in Litgrid that it signed with VAE on 27 September.
The Energy Ministry, given the changed circumstances which may substantially affect the Visaginas project, believes that it is necessary to review VAE's financing needs, according to a draft government resolution, drawn up by the Energy Ministry, that the Cabinet discussed on Wednesday.
According to the Energy Ministry, the deal was not a commercial one. The deal cannot be regarded as a business transaction between two market participants because it only involved changing the form of ownership of a state asset.
Vytautas Plunksnis, chairman of the board of the Lithuanian Investors' Association, told BNS earlier this year that Litgrid's separation from VAE was more of a technical issue, both in terms of shareholding and management, that had little impact on minority shareholders. He said that the state remained the ultimate owner.
EPSO-G took over the shares in Litgrid on 28 September. The government thus separated the electricity transmission system operator from VAE in line with EU third energy package.
Litgrid is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Vilnius stock exchange.
