Latvian electricity market overview

In January 2026, the average electricity price in the Latvian bidding area increased to EUR 153,43 per megawatt hour (EUR/MWh), which is 83% more than in December, while compared to January 2025, the price is 67% higher.

Highlights in January :

• In January, the volume of electricity produced and delivered to the grid in Latvia increased by 45% compared to December, reaching 771 gigawatt-hours (GWh), which is the highest level since the spring floods of 2024. Meanwhile, electricity consumption rose by 15% to 780 GWh, the highest figure since January 2010;
• The increase in electricity consumption both in Latvia and neighboring countries was driven by a significant drop in air temperature, resulting in more electricity being used for heating. According to information compiled by the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre, the average air temperature in January in Latvia was −8,7 °C, which is 5,7 °C below the long-term monthly average. An even colder January was recorded in 2010 and, before that, only in 1987;
• The highest hourly electricity consumption – 1 415 megawatt-hours (MWh) – was recorded on 21 January between 10:00 and 11:00;
• Due to higher demand, electricity production increased in all types of thermal power plants in January: generation in natural gas power plants rose 3.9 times compared to December, biomass plant generation increased by 17%, and biogas plant generation by 6%. Electricity output in solar power plants also grew by 10%. Meanwhile, production in hydropower plants and wind farms decreased by 49% and 17%, respectively;
• The significant increase in production at natural gas plants in January was driven by a favorable market situation — due to rising electricity consumption in Finland, the Finnish prices during peak hours approached those of the Baltic states, allowing local generation to replace imports to the Baltics. At the Baltic level, Latvia recorded the highest increase in electricity production volume and the lowest increase in electricity consumption;
• Due to the low air temperatures, fossil fuel–based electricity generation exceeded renewable energy generation — the share of electricity produced from fossil fuels reached 69,6%, the highest figure since September 2019;
• Overall, local electricity generation in Latvia was able to cover 98,78% of the country’s total electricity consumption, an increase of 21 percentage points compared to December and 4 percentage points more than in January of the previous year;
• In January, average electricity prices in the Baltic states rose sharply — by 90,78% compared to December, reaching 153,44 EUR/MWh. Prices in Estonia increased by 109,88% to 154,43 EUR/MWh, in Latvia by 82,98% to 153,43 EUR/MWh, and in Lithuania by 81,83% to 152,46 EUR/MWh;
• A significant increase in electricity prices was also observed in the Baltic cross‑border trading areas: prices in Finland rose by 226%, reaching 117,27 EUR/MWh; in Sweden’s bidding area 4, prices increased by 78% to 105,65 EUR/MWh; and in Poland the average monthly electricity price grew by 23%, reaching 143,26 EUR/MWh;
• The increase in electricity prices in the Baltic states was mainly driven by low air temperatures not only in the Baltics but also in the Nordic countries, which resulted in a sharp rise in electricity consumption. As a result, electricity prices were determined by more expensive fossil fuel–based generation technologies. Additionally, Baltic electricity prices were significantly affected by the price increase in Finland, where prices rose to the highest level in the past 2 years, aligning with Baltic prices during peak consumption hours. Given the high prices in Finland, imports to the Baltics decreased by 21,9%, being outcompeted by local generation sources, while the load of the Finland–Estonia interconnection fell by 19 percentage points compared to December. The adequacy of generation capacity remained good both in the Baltics and in the interconnected areas;
• Electricity imports to the Baltic states decreased by 13,3% in January compared to December. Imports from Poland increased by 231,7%, while imports from Sweden decreased by 7,1%, and from Finland by 21,9%;
• In January, none of the Baltic states recorded negative electricity price intervals in the 15‑minute trading periods. A similar situation occurred in Finland, Sweden’s SE4 area and several other European bidding zones, where no negative prices were observed. In contrast, Poland recorded 36 such intervals, and the Germany–Luxembourg zone recorded 10;
• The number of operations carried out in the Latvian Electricity Guarantees of Origin (GO) Register in January showed uneven changes. The volume of issued GOs increased by 11%, while the volume of used GOs decreased by 21%. The number of imported GOs increased by 58%, while exported GOs decreased by 9%. A significant increase was observed in GOs transferred within Latvia — by 105% — as well as in expired GOs, whose volume was 178% higher than in December.

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.

** Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are not considered a production type, as they store electricity received from the grid. When this electricity is fed back into the grid, it is included in the total production. As of 1 December 2025, the BESS volume includes the electricity delivered to the grid by AST’s Battery Energy Storage Systems in Rēzekne and Tume, and the electricity received from the grid by AST BESS is included in Latvia’s electricity consumption volume.

** 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

*Historical data up to 1 October 2025 for periods with negative electricity prices have been mathematically recalculated into 15-minute intervals for comparison purposes.

Price comparison between neighbouring bidding areas

Load of the Baltic States interconnections

Electricity import to the Baltic States  [5]

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 15 minutes 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.

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

The ENTSO-E Transparency Platform is a central collection and publication of electricity generation, transportation and consumption data and information for the pan-European market.

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] Here as electricity imports are not commercial transactions, but electricity that has physically entered the network from other countries.

[3] Here as 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.

[5] Here as electricity imports are commercial transactions.