Latvian electricity market overview

In April 2024, the average electricity price in the Latvian bidding area decreased to EUR 60,25 per megawatt hour (EUR/MWh), which is 12% less than in March, while compared to April 2023, the price is 9% lower.

Highlights in April :

• In April, electricity production in Latvia fell by 17% and electricity consumption also fell by 7% compared to March. Compared to the same month last year, production fell by 21% while consumption increased by 2%;
• Similar to Latvia, in the Baltic States as a whole, both electricity production and consumption decreased in April by 8% and 6% respectively, while compared to April 2023, production and consumption increased by 14% and 5% respectively;
• In April, Lithuania produced 636 GWh of electricity, Estonia 352 GWh and Latvia maintained its status as the leader in production with 786 GWh, while in terms of electricity consumption, Lithuania was the leader with 953 GWh, followed by Estonia with 677 GWh, and Latvia consumed the least in April with 557 GWh;
• Despite the decrease in electricity production, 141% of the country's electricity demand was generated in April, with the surplus of 229 GWh exported to neighbouring countries;
• The biggest drop in production was in natural gas power plants - by 77%, while the volume increased by 188% compared to April 2023. However, the output of solar power plants continues to grow, reaching a new record of 26 557 MWh in April;
• In April, 95,18% of Latvia's electricity was generated from renewable sources, the highest share of green electricity since May 2023;
• The average monthly electricity price in Latvia fell to 60,25 EUR/MWh, which is the lowest price since May of 2021. A similar trend was also observed in neighboring countries: in Lithuania, the price was identical to Latvia, but in Estonia, the monthly average price was slightly higher - 60,39 EUR/MWh;
• The drop in electricity prices was facilitated by the high performance of solar, wind and hydro power plants as well as warmer weather, which contributed to the reduction in electricity consumption. Moreover, in the first half of April, negative prices could be observed in the Latvian trading area for 25 hours due to the forecast of large solar, wind and hydro generation. A similar situation could be observed in the Baltic States and Nordic countries;
• In the Baltic interconnected trading areas, April showed different trends in relation to the average electricity price: in Finland and Sweden's 4th zone, the price decreased by 18% or up to 48,92 EUR/MWh and by 4% or up to 53,79 EUR/MWh, respectively, while in Poland the price increased by 7% or up to 80,87 EUR/MWh;
• In April, compared to March, the import of electricity to the Baltic States decreased by 2,5%, although the volume imported from Poland increased by 1,3% and Finland by 19,1%, but decreased by 12,7% from Sweden's 4th zone. The amount of imported electricity to the Baltic States continues to decrease, reaching the lowest amount since November 2023;
• In April, a total of 279 767 GOs were issued in the Latvian Domain for GOs, 60% less than in March.

Raw data can be downloaded here.

Electricity production and consumption balance in Latvia*

* Here and in the following review, the electricity produced is the electricity injected into the grid and the electricity consumed is the electricity received from the grid for consumption.

** Fossil energy source – fossil gas; renewable energy sources – hydro, solar, wind, biogas and biomass.

Balance of the electricity production and consumption in the Baltic States

Interconnection load and electricity prices

Price comparison between neighbouring bidding areas

Load of the Baltic States interconnections

Electricity import to the Baltic States

GUARANTEES OF ORIGIN (GOs)

Statistics of the activity in the Latvia Domain for GOs

BALANCING MARKET IN THE BALTIC STATES

Imbalance prices in the Baltic States

Highest and lowest bid prices

Total activated energy

Average hourly standard bid size

In case of any doubts, questions or inaccuracies, please contact us at [email protected]. 

The information contained in the Market Overview is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing contained in the Market Overview is to be construed or used as a basis for investment or as a basis for any claims against AST. 

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.

The data sources for the balance of electricity produced and consumed in Lithuania and Estonia are operational data from the ENTSO-E Data Transparency Platform, which is a central collection and publication of electricity generation, transportation and consumption data and information for the pan-European market.

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

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

Guarantee of Origin (GO) is an electronic document, that proves the origin of the generated electricity. GOs are uniquely identifiable, transferable, and therefore tradable and used (by cancellation) to provide information of supplied energy to the end-consumer. One GO = 1 MWh generated and injected into the grid that has an expiration of 12 months after the end of the production period.

* Here and in the following review, the electricity produced is the electricity injected into the grid and the electricity consumed is the electricity received from the grid for consumption.

** Fossil energy source – fossil gas; renewable energy sources – hydro, solar, wind, biogas and biomass.

[1] In Latvia there are 10 distribution system operators – for more information visit https://www.sprk.gov.lv/content/pakalpojumu-sniedzeji-1

[2] Electricity imports are not commercial transactions, but electricity that has physically entered the network from other countries.

[3] Electricity exports are not commercial transactions, but electricity physically transferred from the network to other countries.

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