Compared to April, the average price of electricity in Baltic States went up by 26% in May and was 75.85 EUR/MWh, as noted by Latvenergo financial products specialist Inga Salcevica in the company’s latest Power Market Overview.
The month prior the hourly electricity price in Baltic States varied from -7.41 EUR/MWh to 500.05 EUR/MWh.
At the same time, Nord Pool system’s average monthly price went down by 44% when compared to the previous month and was 27.28 EUR/MWh.
Salcevica explained that the drop in prices in Nord Pool system in May was caused by the approaching summer – air temperature in Nordic Countries was on average nearly four degrees above the norm, which contributed to a 14% drop in consumption of power in the region when compared to the previous month.
At the same time, power generation went down by 7%. Because of that, power generation and consumption reached 112% in Nordic States, which is 8% more than in April.
In turn, the price of electricity in the Baltic States was influenced by the development of renewable energy sources – although generation in solar power plants climbed by 95% compared to the previous month, in absolute values it was unable to compensate for the drop in hydropower generation by 42% and the decrease in wind power plant development by 33%.
Electricity consumption in the Baltic States continued its downward movement in May – the total amount of electricity consumed in the Baltic States was 1965 gigawatt-hours (GWh), down by 8% MoM and by 2% YoY.
Latvia consumed 473 GWh of electricity last month, down by 8% MoM and by 4% YoY.
Meanwhile, electricity consumption in Lithuania remained at the level of May of the previous year – 898 GWh, which was a decrease of 6% compared to the previous month. In Estonia, electricity demand decreased the most month-on-month – by 12%, which was a 3% decrease compared to May 2023, accounting for 594 GWh.
In May, a total of 1,490 GWh of electricity was produced in the Baltic States, down by 14% MoM, however, compared to the same period last year, it was an increase of 38%.
In Latvia, electricity production in May was 418 GWh, down by 44% MoM, but up by 30% YoY.
Meanwhile, the amount of electricity produced in Lithuania increased by 1%, to 642 GWh compared to April, but compared to May last year, it was an increase of 67%. In Estonia, electricity generation reached 429 GWh, an increase of 22% compared to the previous month and 15% compared to this period last year.
In the Baltic States, the ratio of electricity consumption and generation in May was 76%. In Latvia, this proportion was 88%, while in Estonia – 72% and in Lithuania – 71%.
The electricity market review says that every year May is typically the period when the water supply in the Daugava begins to decrease, and this year is no exception – last month the average water supply in the Daugava was 887 cubic meters per second, a decrease of 46% compared to April. Despite this, the water flow in the Daugava was 43% higher than in this period last year, as well as 16% higher than the multi-annual average for this period.
In May, the prices of future contracts for electricity were volatile, but on average they showed an increase in prices. It was affected by warmer and drier weather conditions, which reduced the hydrobilance to an average of minus 9 terawatt hours (TWh) below normal. In addition, prices were also influenced by upward changes in energy product markets.
Next month’s electricity system contract “Nordic Futures” in May reached an average price of 33.35 euros per MWh, which was an increase of 29%.
The turnover of the Latvenergo Group reached EUR 2.034 billion last year, up by 10.4% YoY, while the group’s profit increased by 90.8% and amounted to EUR 350.9 million. (BNN)