OREANDA-NEWS. On June 19, 2014, Latvenergo AS and the European power exchange Nord Pool Spot) concluded an agreement enabling Latvenergo AS to offer all of its produced electricity on the exchange. As a result, the electricity offer and turnover on the energy exchange in Latvia will increase multiple times, ensuring greater liquidity and transparency in the market.

The conclusion of the agreement was enabled by amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers regulation on the procedure of application of electricity tax relief, which came into effect on June 19, 2014. Now the procedure has been established for application of the electricity tax relief to companies that sell on the exchange electricity produced from renewable energy resources or through efficient cogeneration.

Uldis Bariss, Latvenergo AS Chief Commercial Officer: “We are satisfied that legislative amendments have been adopted that allow us as a merchant to sell on the exchange the electricity produced in an environmentally friendly manner and not to lose the value of the electricity origin certification. It is also a significant step towards improvement of the electricity market not only in Latvia, but across the Baltics, as the amendments facilitate market transparency.”

“Nord Pool Spot is pleased to welcome Latvenergo as the latest member to sign a gross bidding agreement. We see Latvenergo's gross bidding commitment as a strong positive recognition of our work in providing a liquid, secure and transparent Nordic/Baltic power market. Latvenergo's agreement with Nord Pool Spot means that the majority of Baltic electricity generation is now traded through us. It is important that we continue to attract the full range of Baltic electricity generators and suppliers, to ensure a robust and transparent power market,” said CEO of Nord Pool Spot, Mikael Lundin.

Latvenergo AS sold 0.2 TWh on Nord Pool Spot in 2013, because before the adoption of the amendments, production companies in Latvia were subject to the risk that, after selling electricity on the exchange, the company could lose the right to use the origin certification of electricity produced in an environmentally friendly manner. It is expected that in the coming years Latvenergo AS will sell on the exchange a significantly greater amount of the electricity produced and purchased from producers: around 5 TWh per year. Thus, from now on all electricity produced and purchased from producers will be sold on the exchange, and Latvenergo AS will purchase all electricity required by customers on the exchange at the same time.

In 2013, a total of 84% of the electricity consumed in the Nordics and the Baltics were sold and purchased on the Nord Pool Spot exchange. This data demonstrates that the separation of sale and purchase portfolios is a common and widely used practice for energy companies in the Nordic region. Along with the legislative changes, this good practice will be implemented also by Latvenergo AS.