The average price of electricity in the Baltic States increased by 9% in August compared to July, to 106.95 EUR/MWh, JSC “Latvenergo” Financial Products Specialist Inga Martinsone said in the company’s latest Electricity Market Review.
Last month the lowest hourly price of electricity in the Baltic States was -19.96 EUR/MWh, whereas the highest was 407.42 EUR/MWh.
In turn, the monthly price of the Nord Pool system decreased by 37% compared to July and was 15.35 EUR/MWh.
Martinsone explains that the drop in the price of the Nord Pool system in July was mainly caused by a sharp increase in the development of wind farms in the Nordic countries by 39% compared to July.
Also, the available production capacity of nuclear power plants continued to grow, which, stepping up by 4%, reached the level of 83%. In contrast, in the Baltic States, the upward movement of wholesale electricity prices was influenced by a decrease in the development of renewable energy sources – the power generation of wind power plants decreased by 5%, the power generation of solar power plants decreased by 7%, while the power generation of hydroelectric power plants decreased by 8% compared to the previous month, reaching the lowest point of this year.
The ratio between the amount of electricity production and the amount consumed also deteriorated – while consumption in the Baltic States was without significant changes, the production decreased by 3%, and thus the amount of electricity produced covered 60% of the demand, which was 2% less than in July.
In August, the total electricity consumption in the Baltic States remained at the July level and was 1,990 gigawatt hours (GWh), but it was 3% lower than in this period last year.
In Latvia, too, electricity demand was unchanged compared to July, accounting for 483 GWh, which was 6% less than in August of the previous year. The amount of electricity consumed in Estonia increased by 3% compared to July, but decreased by 7% compared to August 2023. Meanwhile, electricity consumption in Lithuania was 959 GWh, which was a 2% decrease compared to the previous month, but an increase of 2% compared to August last year.
The amount of electricity produced in the Baltic States last month was 1194 GWh, down by 3% MoM, but up by 20% YoY. In Latvia, electricity generation increased by 10% compared to the previous month, reaching 254 GWh. In Estonia, electricity generation amounted to 324 GWh, which is a reduction of 11%. In turn, Lithuania produced 616 GWh of electricity, which was 2% less than in July.
Baltic electricity consumption and generation ratio in August was 60%. In Latvia this proportion was 53%, in Estonia – 59%, while in Lithuania it was 64%.
Martinsone pointed out that in August, the average water flow in the Daugava River continued to decrease, accounting for 186 cubic meters per second. This was 18% lower than in the previous month, but 23% higher than during this period last year. In August, the water well approached the perennial average level.
Last month, electricity production in “Latvenergo” hydroelectric power plants continued a downward trend, decreasing by 8% compared to July, to 94 GWh. In turn, production in “Latvenergo” thermal power plants climbed by 30%, to 102 GWh.
In August, next month’s electricity system contract “Nordic Futures” continued the decline of the previous months, dropping by 21%, to 25.67 euros per MWh. In turn, next year’s system contract price remained at the July level – 42.04 euros per MWh. (BNN)