In July this year, the Nord Pool electricity price in Latvia increased by 7% compared to June – reaching 46.12 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), according to the Electricity Market Review by AS Latvenergo financial products specialist Mārtiņš Braslavs.
In contrast, electricity prices fell in neighbouring countries – by 8% in Lithuania to €46.28 per MWh, and by 11% in Estonia to €36.70 per MWh.
Hourly prices in the Baltic states ranged from -€1.71 per MWh to €198.52 per MWh.
Meanwhile, the Nord Pool system price rose by 68% to €32.32 per MWh last month.
Electricity prices in the Baltic states were affected by a 49% drop in wind power generation compared to the previous month. Hydropower output also fell – total generation in hydropower plants in July was 24% lower than in June.
Electricity imports to the Baltic states increased by 68% over the month, with flows from Finland more than doubling (2.3 times higher) compared to the previous month.
In the Nordic region, price movements were influenced by a 36% fall in wind generation
and a 6% drop in solar output, while nuclear plant availability increased to 74%.
In July, total electricity consumption in the Baltic states rose by 5% month-on-month to 2001 gigawatt-hours (GWh) – roughly the same as in July 2024. Consumption in Latvia increased by 8% to 508 GWh, in Lithuania by 6% to 913 GWh, and in Estonia by 1% to 580 GWh.
Electricity generation in the Baltic states fell by 19% compared to June, to 1338 GWh. In Latvia, output decreased by 6% to 411 GWh; in Lithuania, generation fell by 23% to 637 GWh; and in Estonia, by 25% to 291 GWh.
The generation-to-consumption ratio in the Baltics was 67% in July – in Latvia 81%, in Lithuania 70%, and in Estonia 50%.
Inflow to the Daugava River averaged 598 cubic metres per second (m³/s) last month – 27% less than in June, but still well above the long-term average for this time of year (236 m³/s), about 2.5 times the norm.
Overall, generation at Latvenergo plants increased last month,
reaching a total of 321 GWh. However, hydropower output fell by 25% compared to June, to 259 GWh, while thermal power generation amounted to 62 GWh.
Due to weather conditions and lower expected renewable energy generation, the average Nordic Futures price for the next month rose by 35% in July to 29.75 euros per MWh. In contrast, the next year’s contract price fell by 2.94% to 37.54 euros per MWh.
The average Dutch TTF front-month natural gas price last month was 33.84 euros per MWh. Lower demand and stable LNG supplies contributed to higher gas storage levels in the EU, with the fill rate rising from 59% in June to 69%.
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