The costs of maintaining balancing capacities in the Baltic countries over eight months totaled 260 million euros, of which Latvia covers a quarter — 64 million euros, said Roland Irklis, chairman of the board of the electricity transmission network operator JSC "Augstsprieguma tīkls" (AST), in an interview with LETA.
The Baltic countries disconnected from the Russian-controlled BRELL energy system in February and synchronized with continental Europe. The balancing capacity market began operating in February and has been successfully functioning daily since then.
When asked about the costs of maintaining balancing capacities this year, Irklis responded that the situation is being monitored regularly.
"In the first eight months, the total in the Baltics was 260 million euros. Latvia covers a quarter, while the remaining three quarters are distributed among the operators of Estonia and Lithuania. Latvia's share by the end of August amounted to 64 million euros," Irklis said.
At the end of October, AST completed a project to install battery storage systems, which now provide the necessary balancing capacities.
Irklis noted that although the costs are distributed among all the Baltic countries, the batteries significantly help reduce the costs for the Latvian operator.
"There will be a reduction in costs, and it will be quite significant. We are already seeing this in the first days of using the batteries to provide balancing capacities. Previously, daily costs reached even six-figure sums, but now they no longer exceed 100,000 euros per day," said the head of AST, predicting that savings could reach up to 50% compared to the situation without these batteries.
It was previously reported that the audited turnover of the AST group last year amounted to 258.607 million euros, which is 5.3% more than in 2023, and the group's profit increased 2.2 times to 22.672 million euros. At the same time, the turnover of the parent company AST decreased by 2.5% to 154.011 million euros, while the company's profit increased by 31.6% to 14.764 million euros.
AST is an independent Latvian transmission system operator that ensures the operation of the electricity transmission network and the reliability of the electricity supply system in Latvia, providing transmission system services based on published tariffs, conducting operational management of the transmission system, and ensuring the safe and stable transmission of electricity. AST is state-owned. The company's bonds are listed on the "Nasdaq Riga" debt securities list.
AST is the largest shareholder of the integrated natural gas transportation and storage operator "Conexus Baltic Grid" ("Conexus") — the company owns 68.46% of the shares of "Conexus."
