Electricity Supply in Latvia: Objective and Subjective Aspects
2010
Edvīns Karnītis

Various Latvia’s electricity supply aspects are analysed in the paper – composition and adequacy of the energy basket, security of supply, the purposefulness of various support instruments, accordance of electricity prices with well-founded expenditures. The highest deficit of electricity balance among EU Member States is a huge problem for Latvia; domestic generation capacity ensures only approx. 2/3 of our needs. Cogeneration is and will be the basic technology to increase the capacity in a middle term; gas cogeneration provides the highest relation of electricity and heat powers that is very substantial issue for us. There is advisable to revise in the interests of whole society relevance between prices of produced electricity and heat, decreasing current electricity prices. Low prime cost of the electricity, produced by the Daugava hydro power is a large advantage; exploitation of this benefit has to be improved. Use of another renewables is oversubsidized, trying to achieve ungrounded increase in a short time. At the same time, contrary EU policy, there is extremely weak connection with research and technological development; necessary large-scale funding instruments are not established for these purposes. Network quality is good, but efficiency of its exploitation due to objective reasons in Latvia is not and will not be high. There are the first indications on deficit problems related to transmission network capacity. The performed restructuring and unbundling of the electricity supply system has not provided benefits; the outcome is complicated and non-transparent structure and business processes in the Latvenergo and, as the result, additional costs. Recommendations are provided to solve Latvia’s subjective problems and to improve the situation.


Keywords
electricity production, electricity supply, safety, electricity prices

Karnitis, E. Electricity Supply in Latvia: Objective and Subjective Aspects. Economics and Business. Vol.20, 2010, pp.81-89. ISSN 1407-7337.

Publication language
Latvian (lv)
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