AS “Latvenergo” Supervisory Board has assessed the results of operations of the company in the previous period and appreciates the performance of the group. At the meeting of the Supervisory Board on 18 May 2020 it was decided to extend the job relationship with the members of the Management Board and the new term of office for the existing Management Board will start on 16 November 2020. Āris Žīgurs has been approved as the Chairman of the Management Board of AS “Latvenergo”, Guntars Baļčūns and Uldis Bariss as members of the Management Board for the new term. The authorisations of the Management Board member Kaspars Cikmačs will continue until 24 September 2023.
The Minister of Economics Jānis Vitenbergs: “The Ministry of Economics, as the shareholder of Latvenergo, appreciates Latvenergo’s activities as the energy sector develops and improves the quality of service for both business customers and households, while ensuring substantial dividend payments into the state budget. The strategic vision of the region’s energy supply has now turned Latvenergo into a company that operates the most competitive generating equipment in the Baltic market. Latvenergo supplies the energy generated with low harmful emissions in combination with the use of renewable resources in hydrogeneration at the Baltic and Nordic market. This is possible because sustainable investments have been made in a timely manner in a well-balanced combination of base capacity and generation sources using natural resources.”
The group’s activities in the implementation of strategic goals are progressing successfully because Latvenergo has made full use of the stages of liberalising the Latvian and Baltic market: the electricity market opened for business customers in 2007, the operations developed in the Baltics in 2012 under the retail brand Elektrum and the liberalisation of the household market in Latvia in 2015 has enabled the company to become one of the leading undertakings in the region in all segments of the industry. In 2019, electricity sold outside Latvia amounted to 2.3 TWh and accounted for approximately 1/3 of the total amount of electricity sold in retail.
The investment programme of Latvenergo Group is ongoing quite well, the main investment projects of which are the Daugava HPP reconstruction programme, which provides for a gradual restoration of all hydropower units; an investment programme of distribution networks to improve the quality of the network service, technical indicators and increase the efficiency of the AS “Sadales tīkls”; investments have been made and financing is provided for ambitious transmission network development projects (Kurzeme Ring, Latvia-Estonia third interconnection; construction of 330 kV power line CHPP-2 – Riga HPP).
Since 2017 Latvenergo Group has been implementing the largest and most ambitious efficiency improvement programme in the last decade, in which work processes are centralised and digitalised and the structure of the company is reorganised. The cost reductions achieved in terms of efficiency have led to an average reduction of the distribution service rates by 5.5% from 2020.
Latvenergo Group is systematically expanding its activities into new business segments: in early 2019, the Group started its activities in the natural gas market for Latvian households. Over 300 agreements on sale and installation of solar panels were concluded in the Baltic countries, with a considerable increase in the Lithuanian market Group started working in the electrical mobility the field; activity in the field of electromobility has been started.
Edmunds Valantis, the Chairman of AS “Latvenergo” Supervisory Board, points out that Latvenergo has received recognition both among regional energy professionals and among the members of the Eurelectric European electricity industry association and among Latvian businessmen. In the current international economic situation, it is very important to ensure timely balanced development of Latvenergo Group under the leadership of experienced professionals: “The good corporate governance practice in the selection of high-level managers is to decide whether to continue the contract with the existing management or to launch a new selection procedure at least half a year before the end of the term, so that when the existing authorisation agreement expire, there would be non-stop transition of authorisation. Therefore, our decision will allow the shareholder, the company’s supervisory board and the management board to agree in a timely and balanced manner on the objectives to be achieved over the next period and their marketing strategy. This is a good step, as banks, investors and cooperation partners also appreciate the experience and reputation, professionalism, strategic decision-making practices, risk management, transparency of the company’s management and the quality of the information provided.”
Latvenergo Group is one of the largest power suppliers in the Baltics. It operates in electricity and thermal energy generation and trade, natural gas trade, electricity distribution services and the lease of transmission system assets.