In August Latvia generated and provided to the network a total of 237 GWh of electricity, which is 61% more when compared to July, according to the overview of the Latvian electricity market compiled by Latvian distribution system operator Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST).
Solar and wind energy generation accounted for 14% of the total volume of electricity provided to the network. The volume of this type of energy grew by 77% when compared to August 2022. Solar energy generation has nearly tripled over the course of the year.
The volume of electricity generated by gas power stations increased by 637% in August, reaching 89 GWh,
balancing the price of electricity in Baltic States
in a time when Finland was suffering a severe capacity shortage. The hydro electric power plants provided the network 78 GWh of electricity, which is 35% more when compared to July.
Wind turbines showed a drop of 36% in the volume of generated electricity – to 15 GWh. Solar panel parks suffered a 13% drop – to 18 GWh. Biomass power plants provided the network with 21 GWh of electricity, which is 20% more than compared to July.
In August the average price of electricity in Latvia
reached a three-digit value for the first time since February,
ending at 102.49 EUR/MWh, which is 22% more when compared to July. It was, however, 356% lower when compared to the record-high price observed in August 2022.
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The price of electricity went up in all three Baltic States – by 19% in Estonia (to 94.38 EUR/MWh) and by 22% in Lithuania and Latvia (to 102.49 EUR/MWh). The price of electricity in Baltic States was influenced by the price surge in Finland caused by a collection of factors – planned and unplanned outages of power stations and distribution system lines. This was especially apparent on the 21st of August, when 3 369 MW of this country’s electricity generation capacity was unavailable, as well as 2 500 MW of the distribution system’s capacity for imports of electricity.
The decrease in the amount of electricity produced in Finland was compensated by gas power plants in Latvia, balancing the price in the process. Therefore, during the month in Latvia, cogeneration, as already mentioned, produced 637% more electricity than in July or 89 gigawatt hours. In addition, 73% of the monthly volume – in the period from the 21st to the 26th of August.
The monthly average price increase is also observed in the two interconnected electricity trading areas of the Baltic States – in Zone 4 of Sweden it was 42% and in Finland it was 102%. In Poland, which has an interconnection with the Baltic States, the price went down by 8%, while maintaining a higher average price level month-on-month than in the Baltic States and the Nordic countries.
In August Latvia generated and provided to the network
43% of the volume of electricity consumed in the country.
The remaining volume – 310 GWh of electricity – was imported from Lithuania and Estonia. The total volume of electricity imported to Baltic States is down 2.6%. In that month, imports from Poland went up by 216%, while imports from Nordic countries decreased by 0.3% from Sweden and 17.5% from Finland.
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