Latvian electricity market overview

In May 2022, the average price of electricity in the Latvian trading area increased to EUR 164,20 per megawatt hour (MWh), which is 50,1% more than in April, but compared to May 2021, the price is 239% higher.

Highlights in May:

• In May, 402,525 MWh of electricity was produced in Latvia, which is 39% less than in April and 24% less than a year ago, while electricity consumption in Latvia was 571,154 MWh, which is 2% less than in April and one percent less than a year ago;
• Thus, in May, 70,5% of the electricity consumed in the country was produced in Latvia, which is a drop compared to April, when 112,8% of the required electricity was produced and exported, the missing amount in May - 168,629 MWh imported from neighboring countries;
• The largest drop in the amount of electricity produced can be observed at the Daugava HPP - in May, when the floods in the Daugava subsided, 310,372 MWh of electricity was produced, which is 44,1% less than in April and 26,5% less than a year ago;
• Large cogeneration plants produced 25,250 MWh of electricity in May, which is 23% more than in April and 114% more than a year ago, while the volume produced by wind plants in May showed a decrease of 23% compared to April, but for May 2021 - a decrease of 2,4%;
• A significant drop in the amount of electricity produced can be observed in small (with a capacity of up to 10 MW) cogeneration stations - only 2,810 MWh were produced in May, which is 72% less than in April and 86,6% less than a year ago, other types of electricity production have not been significantly affected Latvia's electricity balance;
• In May, an equalization of electricity prices can be observed in Europe - if in April one MWh had to be paid from 79,36 EUR in Finland to 233,10 EUR in France, then in May this corridor of price fluctuations is between 132,66 and 197,43 EUR - in countries where electricity was on average cheaper, its price increased, while where it cost more on average, prices decreased, the decrease in prices is related to the decrease in consumption after the heating season, while the increase is due to interconnection maintenance repairs, as a result of which the transmission capacity was limited;
• In May, compared to April, the import of electricity to the Baltics from Russia decreased by 69%, but compared to May 2021 - by 7,4 times, this is due to the joint decision of European countries not to buy electricity from Russia from May 22, 2022 due to the sanctions and the import capacity restrictions set since March;
• In May, the import of electricity to the Baltics from Europe also decreased by 6,5%, while at the same time, compared to May 2021, the import from Europe increased by 28,4%. The mentioned changes are related to greater or lesser transmission capacity limitations due to the maintenance works of interconnecting lines last year and this year.

ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN LATVIA MAY 2022

* Rīgas TEC-1, Rīgas TEC-2, AS "Rīgas Siltums", SIA "Juglas Jauda", SIA "Fortum"

INTERCONNECTION LOAD AND ELECTRICITY PRICES

COMPARISON OF PRICES BETWEEN NEIGHMOURING PRICES AREAS

CONGESTION OF THE BALTIC INTERCONNECTIONS

IMPORT OF ELECTRICITY TO THE BALTIC STATES

Balancing market in the Baltics

BALANCING ENERGY PRICES IN THE BALTICS

HIGHEST AND LOWEST BID PRICES

TOTAL ACTIVATED ENERGY BY COUNTRY, MWh

AVERAGE STANDARD BID AMOUNT IN HOUR, MW

Abbreviations and designations used:

LV - Latvia trade area, LT - Lithuania trade area, EE - Estonia trade area, PL - Poland trade area, FI - Finland trade area, SE4 - Sweden's fourth trade area, LBI - Lithuania-Belarus Import trade area, LRI - Latvia-Russia import trade area.

Load = monthly total commercial flow in kWh / monthly total net transfer capacity in kWh ("Net Transfer Capacity" NTC).

Commercial electricity imports to the Baltic States from third countries (Russia) take place on the Latvian-Russian border (LRI-LV) and the Lithuanian-Kaliningrad border (LT-LKAL), according to NordPool data.

Nord Pool is a Nordic electricity exchange where, based on market principles, the electricity price of the Latvian trading area is determined.

[1] Here and in the following review, electricity imports are not commercial transactions, but electricity that physically entered the network from other countries.

[2] Here and in the following review, electricity exports are not commercial transactions, but electricity physically transferred from the grid to other countries.

[3] According to the (ENTSO-E) definition, which does not include electrical self consumption.