Electricity is provided, but the situation in the energy system is tense

News

The increase in electricity consumption in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries caused by the extreme cold, combined with the shutdowns of thermal power plants due to repairs in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, caused a significant increase in electricity prices – on December 7 the average electricity price in the Baltics and Finland reached 469.03 EUR/MWh, increasing even up to 1000.07 EUR/MWh in the peak hours. Although the situation in the Scandinavian and Baltic power systems is tense, the amount of electricity capacity reserves in Latvia is sufficient to provide every consumer with the required amount of electricity. The amount of electricity produced and consumed in Latvia on Monday, December 6, was similar, according to the operational information compiled by the Latvian transmission system operator AS Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST).

"The high electricity consumption in the Baltics and, at the same time, the total shutdown of around 1,300 MW of thermal power plants in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania create a tense electricity balance situation. However, a well-developed transmission network ensures that the missing electricity is imported from the European market. At the same time, a total of around 800 MW of emergency generation reserves are available in the Baltics, which are intended to compensate the lack of resources in the event of the loss of a large power plant or interconnector. During this period, power plants in Latvia provide the electricity needed for national consumption and even export it to the neighbouring countries during peak hours. The situation is tense, but the electricity supply is stable ", says Gatis Junghāns, AST board member.

The Baltics currently produce about 58% of their electricity, importing the missing electricity mainly from the European market and to a lesser extent from Russia. On Monday, the peak demand for electricity in the Baltics reached around 4,900 MW, while peak generation reached around 3,700 MW.

According to the information published by the electricity producers, most of the thermal power plants in the Baltics will be gradually returned to work by mid-December, which will normalize the market situation.

Operational data on planned and actual consumption, generation and balance in Latvia is available on the AST website https://www.ast.lv/en/content/power-system-state, information on the current state of the Baltic-Nordic energy system is also available here https://www.ast.lv/en/content/power-system-state-0.