Hot weather in Latvia has caused electricity prices to rise significantly

According to energy company Enefit, the main reason for the price increase was hot weather.

As a result, energy demand remained relatively high, but at the same time, renewable energy production volumes, especially hydroelectricity, which make up the bulk of Latvia’s green energy balance, fell.

In June, the average price of electricity in the Latvian region of the Nord Pool exchange was 91.64 euros per megawatt-hour, which is 20.8% more than in May.

Average electricity prices in Lithuania and Estonia remained the same as in Latvia.

Energy consumption in the region remained relatively high due to the constant operation of various cooling equipment, but energy production volumes might not sufficiently compensate for this. At the same time, various maintenance works on the power grid and power plants continued, limiting the supply of cheaper electricity from Scandinavia.

“Hot weather limits the production of renewable energy, and the amount of energy produced by Latvia’s wind, hydro and solar power plants has decreased almost fourfold – from 400 GWh in May to 145 GWh in June. The main reason is that hot weather reduces the volume of water in water bodies. Combined with relatively high demand for energy, this shows how important renewable resources are in relation to electricity prices in Latvia and the region. As soon as these capacities are insufficient, this leads to an increase in prices,” says Raimonds Verdiņš, Head of the Legal Clients Segment at Enefit.