On July 14 this year, the Saeima supported in the final reading the amendments prepared by the Ministry of Economics to the Energy Law and the Electricity Market Law, which will contribute to strengthening energy security and independence of Latvia, and which will promote the production of more renewable energy sources (RES), development of projects, as well as stimulate energy efficiency and more active involvement of the population in energy production.
We have done a great job of finally putting in order the energy sector and putting the focus on the production of renewable energy sources in the future. This will be an enhanced opportunity for households and businesses to produce and use their own energy, for multi-apartment owners and private house owners to agree on the establishment of joint solar parks for their own consumption, simplify the application for permits for the deployment of electricity generation installations, and ensure an objective cost-based thermal energy tariff for end-users. The amendments adopted are very important, because at the same time a historic decision was also made to be completely independent of Russia’s natural gas supplies starting from next year,” the Minister of Economics Ilze Indriksone notes.
The amendments adopted to the Energy Law provide that from 1 January 2023 Latvia will completely stop purchasing Russian gas and the single natural gas transmission and storage operator has an obligation to provide the infrastructure that limits supply risks, as well as clarifies the safety of related gas users.
The amendments provide, inter alia, a framework for the introduction of biomethane into the transmission and distribution system, thereby contributing to the increase in demand for biomethane production, as well as the conditions for ensuring the proportionality of the price of heat sold to the heat supply undertaking in the Riga heat market, thus ensuring an objective cost-based thermal energy tariff for end users.
A long-awaited framework for the development of renewable energy communities has also been adopted to enable their members to engage in the production, sharing, consumption and storage of energy within the community.
In addition, the amendments to the Electricity Market Law provide for the introduction of the regulation on active users, electricity sharing, electricity energy communities, and the extension of the net electricity system providing for the introduction of a net payment system that can be used by both natural and legal persons, unlike the net accounting system for household users only.
They also provide for the so-called discomfort payment for local governments for building wind power plants. The amendments provide that in the future, permits for the deployment of electricity generation installations from the Ministry of Economics will only be required if the planned production capacity exceeds 500 kW (currently 11.1 kW) and provide for the introduction of a capacity reservation fee that can be determined by the system operator on the basis of the Regulator’s methodology.
At the same time, the Saeima also approved amendments to the Energy Efficiency Law, which includes introducing the principle of “energy efficiency first” in policy planning and investment approval. The amendments also update the regulation on energy management in public institutions, local governments and other derived public persons, as well as on energy efficiency requirements for large enterprises and large electricity consumers.