Latvijas gāze JSC (LG) management and owners are not interested in peace in Latvia and peace of mind in people’s heads, said Latvia’s Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma.
Commenting on the recent statement from LG that there may not be enough gas in Latvia to last the upcoming heating season, the politician said Latvijas gāze’s name is misleading – if it were called properly, by its owner’s structure, it would be called Russian Gas.
«The management of the company and their owners are not interested in peace in Latvia and peace of mind in people’s heads.»
«Russia is waging a war on Ukraine, but in its statements Russia is also aggressive towards Baltic States,» said Kariņš, stressing that LG should be careful with what they say as well.
As for Conexus Baltic Grid JSC, it is a state company that stores gas, and they know that in the underground storage facility there is far more gas stored on Latvia’s behalf than what households need for the heating season.
Latvia’s government decided to reserve a specific amount of gas to last the winter, said Kariņš.
«We have enough gas. LG is a public trader – they have a duty to supply gas to households. For as long as they fulfil this duty, the gas we have underground will be going to households,» said the PM.
«If LG refuses, cannot, or is otherwise unable to fulfil this duty, this duty will be handed to state companies Latvenergo and Conexus.»
Latvijas gāze JSC plans to raise gas tariffs again this autumn due to the rapid procurement prices of gas, said the company’s board chairman Aigars Kalvītis in a recent interview to TV3.
Kalvītis explained that a single tanker’s worth of gas costs around EUR 250 million, and there are very few companies in Baltic States that can afford to pay that much.
«This is why in recent weeks there has been a lot of activity from different suppliers that have supply contracts for gas supplies to start in October. But because of the high price, they cannot purchase gas. This is why they are looking for partners to split supplies,» explained Kalvītis.
This high price is also the reason why LG has turned to the regulator to review tariffs.
The tariffs that came to force in July were calculated at significantly lower gas price.
Kalvītis also repeated what he previously said, that is confused over the government’s decision to reserve gas volumes for households and prevent the gas being used for other purposes.
«We have commenced a legal evaluation of this situation, and we are consulting with the Ministry of Economics to resolve this situation. We do not understand the term ‘reservation’. There is no such term. On top of that, it is reservation of our clients’, not our property. There is no way to look at it differently – this is some sort of nationalisation,» Kalvītis told TV3.
On 1 September Latvijas gāze reported that the volume of gas it owns in Inčukalns underground gas storage facility is only 0.2946 TWh.
This amount is not enough to supply households in Latvia throughout winter. This is why the company stressed it is not able to meet the 1.15 TWh of gas reserves required in the Energy Law.
Also read: Latvijas Gāze doesn’t have enough gas in Inčukalns to satisfy households’ needs
At the same time, despite the claims about limited gas supplies in the storage facility, the company continues working on solutions to ensure there is sufficient gas to make it through 2022/2023.
The Ministry of Economics previously reported that the volume of gas stored on Latvia’s behalf at Inčukalns gas storage facility is much higher than the volume needed to supply to households this heating season.
Conexus Baltic Grid (Conexus) affirms that the volume of gas owned by LG at Inčukalns is higher than 1.15 TWh, which is the volume required by the Cabinet of Ministers requirements for emergency gas supplies.
Conexus adds that issues of gas ownership is a matter for the system’s user, and Conexus has a duty to provide protection of confidential information it receives from users of the gas transmission system and its not allowed to disclose this information.
LG’s biggest shareholders are Russian Gazprom (34%), Marguerite Gas II.S.a.r.l. (28.97%), German Uniper Ruhrgas International GmbH (18.26%) and Itera Latvija LLC (16%).