Market development
One of the responsibilities of the electricity transmission system operator is electricity market development and Lithuanian electricity market integration into the single European power market.
The Lithuanian bidding area of Nord Pool Spot, the leading Nordic and Baltic power exchange in Europe, has been functioning since June 2012, and the Elbas intraday market was launched in December 2013. Market participants may trade in electricity in both day-ahead and hour-ahead markets. Short-term plans include the development of a financial market that will enable management of the risk of long-term trading in electricity. Market participants will be able to secure themselves against electricity price fluctuations in advance and fix the price of electricity they are planning to trade in the future.
The new power links with Sweden and Poland, construction whereof is currently in progress and operation whereof is scheduled to start at the end of 2015, will connect the power infrastructures of the Baltic States, North-Western Europe. Thus, electricity import opportunities will increase and alternative electricity trading channels between Lithuania, Scandinavia and North-Western European countries will be created.
The national methodology for capacity allocation of electricity transmission links between Lithuania and neighbouring countries in the market became effective on 1 January 2014. The key requirement of the methodology is to efficiently allocate and operate Lithuanian power links with Latvia, Belarus and Kaliningrad while keeping to the electricity transmission security requirements and to ensure power system reliability as well as maximum infrastructure availability for the market. System reserve power will also be assessed from the above date when identifying maximum electricity flows able to get into the Lithuanian power system. This will increase electricity import opportunities during the months of the greatest physical restrictions for electricity import due to technical reasons (line and generator repairs).
In February 2014 the first step was taken towards a common rules on cross - border capacity calculation and allocation between Baltic countries. Lithuanian and Latvian electricity transmission systems operators Litgrid and Augstsprieguma tīkls signed the agreement on principles of calculation and allocation of the Cross-border trading capacities, which is published below.
