Latvian electricity market overview

In July 2022, the average price of electricity in the Latvian trading area increased to EUR 304,96 per megawatt hour (MWh), which is 39,7% more than in June, but compared to July 2021, the price is 245% higher.

Highlights in July:

• In July, 208,029 MWh of electricity was produced in Latvia, which is 25,4% less than in June, while compared to July 2021, the decrease is 32%, while electricity consumption was 544,121 MWh, which is 1% more than in June and 9% less than last July;
• Thus, in July, 38% of the electricity consumed in the country was produced in Latvia, which is a drop compared to June, when 52% of the required amount was produced, the missing amount in July - 336,092 MWh was imported from neighboring countries;
• In terms of volume, the largest drop in production can be observed at the Daugava HPP - producing 137,554 MWh, 34% less compared to June, while an 88% increase in production can be observed compared to July 2021;
• Large cogeneration plants had practically stopped production in July - only 4,527 MWh of electricity was produced, which is 97% less than a year ago and half less than in June;
• In July, for the second month in a row, Latvia reached the historically highest monthly average electricity prices since the opening of the electricity market - 304,96 EUR/MWh, the average monthly prices in the other Baltic countries also reached historically high levels - in Lithuania 305,36 EUR/MWh, in Estonia - 233, 21 EUR/MWh;
• The historically highest hourly price was also recorded in Latvia and Lithuania - on July 21, in the period from 18.00 to 19.00, the price of electricity reached 2100,08 EUR/MWh;
• The sharp increase in prices is associated with the limited supply of electricity in the Baltic market - it is limited both by the repair of the Daugava HPP hydrostructures, as a result of which, due to the low water level, the large hydroelectric power plants in Latvia cannot store water and produce electricity only during the hours of peak consumption, thereby increasing the supply on the market and balancing the price, availability of gas and its high prices for the production of electricity in cogeneration stations, as well as the decision to stop the import of electricity from Russia due to the sanctions imposed on it;
• The limited amount of production contributed to the increase in imports to the Baltics from the European Union - a total of 1,138,716 MWh of electricity was imported into the Baltics, which is 7% more than in June;
• Although the historically highest price was also reached in Estonia, the increase there was not so great and it is related to the limited opportunities to transfer electricity to Latvia due to capacity limitations of the interconnections of the two countries, which were caused by both the planned repairs and the high air temperature.

ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN LATVIA JULY 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

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, AT - Austrian trade area, BE - Belgium trade area, DE-LU - German- Luxembourg trade area, FR - France trade area, NL - the Netherlands trade area, DK1 and DK2 - Danish 1. and 2. 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.

[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.