The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is a temporary financial instrument and a central element of the NextGenerationEU recovery plan. It is expected to help EU Member States to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and make the European Union more stronger and resilient.
The goal of RRF funding is to provide Member States with the implementation of ambitious reforms and investments aimed at:
- making economy and society more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transition in line with EU priorities;
- to respond of the problems indicated in the recommendations addressed to specific countries within the framework of the European economic and social policy coordination during half-year.
The RRF grant was started in 19 February 2021, based on the Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, approved on 12 February 2021. It will finance EU Member States reforms and investments made between the start of the pandemic in February 2020 and till August 2026.
The energy sector in Latvia also faces big challenges after the COVID-19 pandemic, due to increase of prices for equipment and labour in the energy sector, therefore the RRF plan is expected to provide support for the 1.2.1.5.i. investment in Latvia "Modernization of electricity transmission and distribution networks" under which AS "Augstsprieguma tīkls", as a transmission system operator (TSO), responsible for the security and stability of electricity supply in the energy system, received financing for the reform component of the modernization of the electricity transmission system. The project includes the development of information technology solutions for increasing the flexibility and reliability of the transmission system, the development of dispatch control and data centre, including the creation of a new data connection and information technology infrastructure solution for the main data centre and reserve data centre in Latvia, the creation of a national data platform, including creation of necessary information system infrastructure and developed network management digitalisation for the implementation and operation of climate-neutral solutions promoting the achievement of Latvia climate goals, ensuring the implementation of climate-neutral information technology (IT) solutions of the energy sector for the management and control of connected renewable energy sources (RES), contributing and supporting the development of Latvia's energy policy and economy.
On 15 November 15 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia published Cabinet Regulation No. 726 (https://likumi.lv/ta/id/337225) "Implementing Rules for Reform 1.2 and branch "Improvement of energy Efficiency" of the European Union Recovery and Resilience Fund Plan Investment 1.2.1.5.i. "Modernisation of Electricity Transmission and Distribution Networks". The Cabinet Regulation has been amended on 18 June 2024 with Cabinet Regulation Nr. 361. Amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 726 of the Republic of Latvia, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers under Regulation No. 755 "Amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 726 of 15 November 2022 "Regulations for the implementation of Investment 1.2.1.5.i "Modernisation of Electricity Transmission and Distribution Networks" under Reform and Investment Direction 1.2 "Improvement of Energy Efficiency" of the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility Plan"" (https://www.vestnesis.lv/op/2025/243.4)
AS "Augstsprieguma tikls" (AST) is implementing projects with total RRF support of EUR 38,100,000 where EUR 27,000,000 is related for the construction of the national energy system dispatcher control and data centre, and the reconstruction of the existing territory, while EUR 11,100,000 is intended for the development and implementation of information systems and network management digitization measures. The agreement of the use and management conditions of RRF funding, between AST and the Ministry of Economics of Latvia, as the supervisory institution of the RRF energy sector projects, was signed on 27 March 2023. The RRF projects must be implemented by the July 2026.
More about RRF fund can be found https://www.esfondi.lv/en
For the reliable and stable operation of electricity system, the AST dispatcher control and data center "Jāņciems" is being built, which meets the requirements of modern critical infrastructure buildings, and the production base at the Darzciema Street 86 facilities is being rebuilt. This is a project of critical importance for the reliable management and operation of the energy system, which was granted the status of an object of national interest in 2022, and which is included in the AST electricity transmission system ten-year development plan approved by the Public Utilities Commission.
As part of the project new modern security-compliant main dispatcher control and data center of the Latvian energy system in being built at Darzciema Street 86, Riga, as well as the entire production base being renovated, which currently includes approximately 40 buildings, ranging from equipment control rooms and inspection laboratories to transformer oil purification facilities and specialized transport service rooms.
The buildings on the site were mainly built between the 1930s and 1960s, with the newest constructions being built in the 1990s. Due to the deterioration of the buildings, economically more reasonable to dismantle and rebuild for 50% of them, while a third require significant reconstruction for their further operation. This project will allow to reduce energy consumption by up to 50%.
The construction of the dispatcher control and data center "Jāņciems" and the reconstruction of the production base territory and building complex are being done by SIA "NEWCOM Construction", in accordance with the procurement and signed contract with AST.
Its implementation will take place in three stages. The first two stages are financed from the Recovery and Resilience Facilities funds, while the third stage will be financed from AST budget.
The implementation of the first stage began in March 2024 and continued until April 2025, during which warehouse buildings, utility buildings, workshops were demolished, and new warehouses and production buildings were built.
The second phase was launched in January 2025 and will continue until July 2026, during which the office buildings and laboratories, spare parts warehouse and central warehouse buildings located in the courtyard of Darzciema Street 86 will be demolished. During second phase will also completely rebuild the office building, which is visible from the Darzciema Street roadway.
Third phase will start in April 2026 and will be implemented until September 2027, the main task of which is to construct a new transport division building and checkpoint. This phase will be financed using AST resources.
The implementation of the "Jāņciems" project has been launched based on the Board Decision No. 28/10/2020 "On approval of the capital investment project "Reconstruction of the territory of the administrative building complex and production base of AS "Augstprieguma tīkls" at Darzciema Street 86, Riga" on 4 March 2020.
In order to prevent information technology solutions and data fragmentation in the balance management, as well as taking into account the increasing requirements from market participants for data availability and exchange, Augstsprieguma tīkls AS (AST) should replace the existing IT balance management solutions with a common IT system that provides full functionality of balance management, including the power system balance planning, adjustment, calculation and approval of cross-border capacities, automation of the settlement system, archiving of balancing data, loss planning process and balancing bid management process, together with the necessary reports.
The Balance Management System (BMS) started its work on 31 May 2023. Within the framework of the project, the aforementioned processes were automated, standardized data exchange between systems was introduced, and a unified database was implemented for balancing-related processes and data, significantly reducing the fragmentation of the data and applications. The project was launched on 24 October 2018 by AS "Augstsprieguma tīkls" Board Decision No. 179/47/2018 and was completed in December 2025. The costs of the project are eligible from 1 February 2020.
BMS is integrated with a other internal and external systems. The main purpose of BMS is to provide the business processes necessary for the operation of the electricity transmission system and the electricity market and the exchange of data with other parties involved in these processes. The BMS includes presentation, business logic and data stages. The BMS portal (clients/public) is available to BSPs (balancing service providers) and RSPs (regulation service providers) via a web browser. The system contains the following modules:
- Balance planning;
- Regulation bids management;
- Imbalance settlements;
- Transparency reporting to ENTSO-E;
- Cross-border capacity (NTC) planning;
- Short-term power adequacy.
The Balancing Management System (BMS) became operational from 31 May 2023, on 11 October 2024 Mari platform functionality started operation and since December 2025 other necessary BMS functionalities has been implemented in BMS.
The BMS is designed to allow the system operator and balancing service customers and regulation service providers could exchange with information to support business processes. Access to the system is provided to the market participants that have concluded a balancing or regulation service contract with AST. More information on balancing the system can be found here, while market information is available on the Transparency platform at https://transparency.entsoe.eu/ and https://baltic.transparency-dashboard.eu/.
More information about Balance management system can be found here.
Connecting of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) power plants to the transmission network is not related only with development of transmission infrastructure (lines, substations, transformers), but also with new IT systems, without which newly connected RES generators cannot be planned, modelled, regulated and controlled. The Network Model Management (NMM) information system is an essential and integral part of the whole RES integration process, connecting the Latvian IT system with a common European electricity market planning and management system, which is a prerequisite for reliable and stable synchronisation with continental Europe. During project implementation will be provided:
- common source for the collection and maintenance of main data for network model and data automatic update according to actual changes in the network;
- update of network model data from the developed NMM system to other AST IT systems and tools;
- use of network models in the developed system for AST modes and outage planning;
- possibility to extend the functionality of the developed system, including the data exchange with other information systems in AST and ENTSO-E level.
The project is started on 6 November 2019 with AST Board Decision No 160/46/2019. Project was completed in September 2025. The project costs are eligible from 1 February 2020.
Secure operation of the electricity system and Latvian electricity system synchronisation with continental Europe is impossible without a secure IT infrastructure and cybersecurity, protecting from infrastructure outages, external threats and cyber-attacks. This is essential at all levels of power system management, both in the short-term and long-term.
During implementation of the project, is expected to provide necessary server and data network infrastructure for new data centre (compute, collect), to ensure information systems compliance for critical infrastructure requirements. It is also expected to provide the necessary solutions to improve cyber security. For these purposes, the special IT infrastructure solutions for the cyber security monitoring are planned with implementation of relevant equipment and systems.
The project has started in the beginning of 2020 and was completed in December 2025. The costs for the project are eligible from 1 February 2020. Within framework, the Board of AS"Augstsprieguma tīkls" adopted decision No. 179/48/2023, No. 5/2/2024, No. 48/12/2024, No. 2.1/2024/127, No. 149/37/2024, No. 164/41/2024, No. 167/42/2024, No. 99/23/2025, No. 2.1/2025/252, based on which AST implemented several IT solutions.
AST regularly conducts inspections of its transmission network assets. In addition to LiDAR (laser scanning) data acquisition, extensive aerial photography using drones is performed. LiDAR technology enables the collection of highly accurate spatial data about infrastructure and its surroundings through laser pulses, while drone imagery provides detailed visual information on the technical condition of assets.
As a result, thousands of images are generated. Until now, their analysis has largely been carried out manually, with specialists reviewing each image individually. This is a time-consuming process that requires significant human resources.
To improve efficiency, AST, in cooperation with Datacom, has launched a pilot project to develop a prototype for automated detection of potential defects. The solution is based on NVIDIA technologies and artificial intelligence models that analyze photographic data and enable early identification of potential anomalies in the technical condition of assets. These technologies are provided through the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH).
The project is fully funded under Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) plan (EUR 12,000). In the future, such a solution could become a significant support tool for transmission network monitoring and maintenance by enabling faster processing of large volumes of data and reducing the extent of manual work. The pilot project represents an important step towards a more advanced, data-driven and technologically sophisticated approach to transmission system management.
It is expected that the results of the pilot project will provide a basis for evaluating whether artificial intelligence technologies can ensure faster identification of potential defects and help reduce the likelihood of unplanned outages. According to the initial assessment, automated image analysis could reduce the time AST specialists spend on image review by 30–50%.
