Fixed price electricity contracts were chosen by 65% ​​of households last year, PUC informs

Electricity production in the Baltic States in 2022, compared to 2021, increased by 4.6%. Among them, production volumes increased by 26% in Estonia, by 1.7% in Lithuania, and decreased by 14.9% in Latvia.

The decrease in the amount of electricity produced in Latvia was mainly influenced by the high price of natural gas, states the PUK, explaining that the production of electricity using natural gas is more expensive, therefore such energy is less competitive on the market. Looking at the types of production resources used, in 2022, compared to 2021, the amounts produced in cogeneration plants decreased by 32%, while in wind power plants they increased by 36%, and in hydroelectric power plants (HEP) – by 2%.

PUK also notes that in January of this year, due to floods, which are not typical for this month, production volumes at HPPs increased significantly. The total produced amount of HES reached 935 gigawatt hours (GWh), which is the highest indicator since March 2017, and with the own (local) produced amount in Latvia consumption was covered in the amount of 143%.

Last year, as a whole, Latvia covered 69.7% of electricity consumption using local production sources. Electricity is mostly imported from Sweden, Finland and Poland, since the import of electricity from Russia and Belarus has been suspended since last May. Compared to 2021, in 2022 the amount of electricity imported by Latvia was 13.7% higher, while the amount of exported electricity increased by 3.6%.

Last year, compared to 2021, the average monthly electricity prices on the “Nord Pool” exchange in the Latvian trade zone were highly fluctuating. In August 2022, the highest average monthly price was reached so far – 467.75 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), which is approximately five times higher than in August 2021. On the other hand, at the beginning of 2023, the prices on the “Nord Pool” exchange in the Latvian trade zone decreased. In January of this year, the average monthly price was 99.74 euros per MWh, which is 62% less than in December 2022, but in February it was 113.77 euros per MWh, which is 14% more compared to January.