The Cabinet of Ministers has ordered the Economics Ministry to amend the Electricity Market Law accordingly, and submit the amendments to the government along with other bills supplementing the 2017 budget bill.
The Economics Ministry will have to by May 1 next year present to the government a report on factors influencing electricity rates, which would also cover the impact of cogeneration plants.
The Economics Ministry earlier said that it was planning to differentiate compulsory procurement component in electricity rates depending on the connected load and consumption.
According to the proposal, the average mandatory procurement component will reduce for companies with connection capacity of 110 kilovolts (kV) and 6 to 20 kV, as well as households with connection capacity of 0.4 kV, and increase for the rest of consumers with connection capacity of 0.4 kV.
The ministry explained that the latter group of consumers was less sensitive to changes in electricity rates as it includes, for instance, stores, offices, etc.
The changes will prompt consumers to choose more effective connection capacities, as well as increase electricity consumption in Latvia in the long term as they will create more favorable environment for energy-intensive companies.
The rates will increase for households with low electricity consumption, but the increase will be compensated for protected consumers.
