News & events

2014-08-19

The electricity market survived the July heat

The average price of electricity in the Lithuanian bidding area on the Nord Pool Spot exchange in July was 19.8 cents per kilowatt hour. The record heat caused electricity consumption to increase by 10 per cent in Lithuania and 5 per cent in Latvia.
 
In order to meet the increased demand, electricity production had to be increased at the Lithuanian Power Plant, and a Latvian thermal power plant had to be activated; the relatively high cost of the electricity produced at these plants contributed to the increase in the price of electricity in July. Prices were also influenced by routine repairs on power lines and power stations throughout the region, as well as by the Kaunas and Daugava hydroelectric power plants, which were less productive due to the decreased water levels in rivers.
 
The majority of electricity consumed in Lithuania in July – 62 per cent – was imported; this is less than in June, when 72 per cent of the electricity consumed was imported. On average, electricity import volumes from Estonia and Scandinavia declined by 16 per cent. Electricity imports from Kaliningrad grew by 10 per cent; however, this did not compensate for the shortage of electricity from the Nordic countries, so electricity production in Lithuania had to be increased.
 
The average price for electricity in the Scandinavian bidding areas on the Nord Pool Spot exchange was 8 per cent lower than it was in June. Electricity prices in Scandinavia decreased as a result of the enormous supply of electricity produced at Norwegian hydropower plants and the decreased demand due to the holiday season.
 
The average price of electricity in the Estonian bidding area grew by 23 per cent in the month of July, while in Finland it remained the same as in June: 12.2 ct/kWh. Although electricity prices in Estonia and Finland were very similar earlier this year, repair of the power link between these countries caused a larger price gap.
 
On average, utilisation of the Lithuanian-Belarusian interconnection capacity in July was 43 per cent, while utilisation of interconnection capacity from Estonia and Latvia was at 92 per cent.