In order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and move towards the goal of a climate-neutral energy system, as well as so that investments in the development of the electricity system do not create an increasing tariff burden for consumers, it is necessary to promote electrification by replacing the burning of fossil fuels with the use of electricity in all sectors of the national economy, concluded AS "Augstsprieguma tīkls" (AST ) in the published annual assessment report.

In the following decade, a deficit of generating capacity is expected both in Latvia and in the Baltics as a whole, so the electricity demand until 2030 will be helped by the import of electricity. In the Baltics, it is planned to close half of the generation capacities of the large thermal power plants, and a significant development of RES energy in the entire Baltic region is also predicted. In order to ensure the safety and stability of the system, this will require a greater involvement of balancing power, which according to existing forecasts will be insufficient.

"Currently, large solar and wind farm projects are developing rapidly in Latvia. In order not to reduce the safety and stability of Latvia's electricity supply in the next decade, it is important to ensure that Latvia's existing generation capacity does not decrease and that new generation capacity and interconnections are developed", explains Arnis Daugulis, member of the AST board.

Taking into account that natural gas and electricity supplies from Russia to the Baltic States and to Finland have been interrupted, an increased risk of resource sufficiency is expected in winter of 2022/2023.

The annual assessment report prepared by the operator of the transmission system is an important document for the development of the Latvian electricity system, as it proposes and considers several possible generation development scenarios, analyzes consumption and peak loads, examines the electricity balance for a 10-year interval and informs about the available capacities to cover the 24-hour load in the near future.