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The 6^th World Energy Council (WEC) Baltic Sea Region Round Table meeting started in Riga today. On the first day, the council members met in the administrative building of Latvenergo AS discussing energy policy in general, while tomorrow they will move to the Inčukalna underground gas storage facility to talk about gas supply. The event has brought together representatives of the leading energy companies in the Baltic States, politicians, as well as the regional WEC leaders of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Germany.

At the opening of the event, everyone agreed that the greatest challenge and also the obligation at the moment was mutual interrelation of energy policy and climate protection plans. Ralfs Nemiro, the Latvian Minister of Economics also emphasised this in his speech: “Europe has very ambitious climate improvement targets by 2050, but they can be achieved only if there is a common frame of reference. Latvia aims to provide at least 45% of renewable resources in the total electricity balance by 2030. Latvia is already one of the leaders in this area among EU Member States with a 40% share, and I would say that reaching additional 5% in the next ten years is not impossible.”

Einari Kisel, the Regional Manager for WEC, presented an ambitious study setting out the most important developments and also critical points of each region represented in the organisation. Although Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have objectively different facets, a number of areas can be identified, which are common for the countries and could therefore be a common platform for growth and handling future challenges. Einari Kisel believes that all countries are now particularly focused on developing their portfolio for the use of renewable resources, on efficient energy and regional integration. All countries share a common position on Russian energy and assess the fact that the EU Cohesion Policy has a very high impact on the energy market of the Baltic States. The market environment, on its own, has been assessed as fairly and transparently regulated.

When marking the topics of the discussions and at the same time presenting Latvenergo Group to the attendees, Āris Žīgurs, the Chairman of the Management Board of Latvenergo AS, stressed that the possibility of further promoting positive climate change is also a matter of national cooperation. “Eurelectric believes electrification of transport is crucial to achieving decarbonisation targets. Charging infrastructure is also rapidly developing in the Baltic States, but unfortunately it is being hindered by the mutually agreed lack of operators, payment systems and standards. The numbers of electric vehicles are also still lagging behind the volume that could ensure the profitability of this business.”

Āris Žīgurs also emphasised the synchronisation of the electricity system with the European continental network as a project of importance for all the Baltic States, which is not only a political but also a technological challenge. In addition, there is a growing convergence in regional markets, which is also a process that should be supported and promoted in the future.

WEC representatives from the Baltic Sea Region – Chairman of the Management Board of Eesti Energia Hando Sutter, Chairman of the Management Board of Latvijas Gāze Aigars Kalvītis and colleagues, Member of the Management Board of Augstsprieguma tīkls AS Gatis Junghāns, Research and Development Director of Latvenergo AS Māris Balodis and other leaders in the energy sector of the Baltic States, as well as WEC was represented by the Lithuanian Regional Manager Jurgis Vilemas, the Finnish Regional Manager Helena Kivi – Koskinen and colleagues, the German Regional Manager Carsten Rolle and colleagues.

Since 1923, the World Energy Council brings together leading energy sector specialists, policy makers and teachers, promoting an internationally agreed energy policy vision and a sustainable energy system for the benefit of entire society.