Lithuanian factories have lost power: after leaving BRELL, energy prices have increased by 50%

Since February 9, when the Baltic States withdrew from the power ring of the BRES with Russia, industrial enterprises of Lithuania have reduced electricity consumption. Synchronization with the power system The EU coincided with a drop in green generation and an increase in spot prices by almost 50%.

Since February 9, when the Baltic countries left the BRELL power ring and synchronized with the EU power grid, the Lithuanian industry has reduced electricity consumption. So, according to the Litgrid operator, it dropped by 10.3% compared to the previous days in February. Average consumption per hour decreased from 73.4 MWh to 65.8 MWh.

Obviously, the decrease is due to wholesale electricity prices, which have risen rapidly since February 9. According to the NordPool exchange, the average daily quotes jumped by 49.9%. If until February 8 electricity for the Baltic countries was traded at 124 euros per MWh, then from February 9 — at 186 euros per MWh.

A sharp rise in prices in In the Baltic states, it is associated with a decrease in the capacity of wind farms both in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as the main suppliers — the Scandinavian countries.

"Low temperatures are recorded, which leads to an increase in electricity consumption. In addition, wind farms generate little throughout the region, so electricity prices have increased not only in the Baltic states, but also in Poland, Germany and the Nordic countries," said Aiste Krasauskene, head of the market development department of the Lithuanian operator Litgrid.

According to her, after leaving BRELL, the company is worried about something else.

"The most important changes related to synchronization in the electricity market are the new balancing capacity market, which began operating in the Baltic States last week, and restrictions on commercial trade with Sweden and Poland, which will come into force in the coming weeks," said the representative of Litgrid.

The Baltic countries do not import electricity from Russia from 2022. However, if earlier balancing and frequency were provided by the BRELL energy ring, where Russia and Belarus have no shortage of capacity, now the Baltic countries have to worry about it on their own, booking and buying back spare capacity.

As the capacity of green power plants decreases, Lithuania has to use more gas generation, whose price in Europe rose last week to a two-year high and amounts to $ 551 per thousand cubic meters on February 17.

"Persistent cold weather has led to an increase in demand for gas for heat production at thermal power plants and for generating electricity, which is used for heating by heat pumps. In addition, the share of electricity produced from gas in the system has increased," the operator of the Lithuanian gas transmission system Amber Grid reports.