The Supervisory Board of AS Rīgas Siltums has expressed no confidence in Chairman of the Management Board Ilvars Pētersons for failing to take proactive action during the heating tariff preparation and approval process, the company announced on X (Twitter). Pētersons has been dismissed effective today.
The board explained that only after the issue was raised in the public domain, and with the active involvement of the board and shareholders, were changes made that led to a reduction in the planned tariff increase.
As previously reported by LETA, the Ministry of Economics (MoE) will propose the dismissal of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rīgas Siltums, according to a statement by Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis (ZZS) on social media.
Valainis said that the MoE will call on Riga City Council to convene a shareholders’ meeting of Rīgas Siltums, where the dismissal of Supervisory Board Chairman Jevgenijs Belezjaks and Deputy Chairman Gatis Sniedziņš will be proposed. The minister stressed that the board and management must “take responsibility for the company’s performance,” though he did not specify the exact grounds for their removal.
This summer,
Rīgas Siltums faced increased scrutiny and criticism over its plans to raise heating tariffs in the capital.
From the 1st of October this year, the company’s heating tariff will increase by 11.9%, reaching 83.01 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), according to data published by the MoE.
Meanwhile, the tariff without adjustment will increase by 4.1% from the 1st of October, reaching 80.96 euros per MWh. The Public Utilities Commission (SPRK) has approved these tariffs. Initially, the tariff submitted to the regulator — with an unplanned expenditure component of 2.05 euros per MWh — would have meant a 21.5% increase, up to 90.15 euros per MWh. Currently, the final tariff, including an unplanned revenue component of 3.6 euros per MWh, is 74.17 euros per MWh.
In the first half of the financial year (the 1st of October, 2024 – the 31st of March, 2025), the Rīgas Siltums Group had a turnover of 189.28 million euros, down 12% from the same period a year earlier, while profit rose by 31.7% to 33.38 million euros.
Rīgas Siltums is one of the main heating energy providers in Riga. The company’s share capital is owned by Riga City Council (49%), the Latvian state (48.99%), SIA Enerģijas risinājumi. RIX (2%), and AS Latvenergo (0.005%).
Read also: Baiba Braže to be sued for denigration of honour and dignity