Trade
845,000
Electricity customers
50,000
Natural gas customers
1,600
New solar panel contracts
400
Elektrum Drive charging points
At the end of 2023, Latvenergo Group had about 845 thousand customers in the Baltic states, including more than 227 thousand customers outside Latvia. The total number of electricity customers increased by 3%. The growth was significantly driven by the opening of the household market in Lithuania in 2022 – the number of household customers increased by approximately 50 thousand in this country. Of the total number of electricity customers, 96% are household customers and 4% are business customers.
The total electricity consumption of the Baltic states in 2023 amounted to 26.9 TWh, which is approximately 3% less than in 2022. A decline in consumption has been observed in all the Baltic states over the last two years. Consumption is mainly influenced by the increasing amount of microgeneration on the electricity grid, where customers generate some of the electricity they need themselves.
In 2023, the market share of Latvenergo Group in the electricity market of the Baltic states was 23%. In 2023, sales to retail customers in the Baltic states reached 6,208 GWh, which is 14% more than in 2022. The increase was mainly driven by the increase of sales in the business customer segment as well as in the Lithuanian household market.
In 2023, Latvenergo Group sold 896 GWh of natural gas to retail customers in the Baltic states, which is 4% down from 2022. The decrease in sales is due to a general decline in natural gas consumption in the Baltic market; for instance, in the Latvian market, natural gas consumption in 2023, excluding the Latvenergo Group’s consumption was 16% lower than in 2022.
The number of natural gas customers in the Baltic states has continued to grow, further strengthening the position of Elektrum in the strategically important small business and household segments. At the end of 2023, the number almost reached 50 thousand, which is an increase of 127% compared to the previous year. Of the total number of natural gas customers, 95% are household customers and 5% are business customers.
On 1 May 2023, the Latvian household natural gas market was opened; now all household users can choose their natural gas trader. By the end of 2023, as many as 46.7 thousand household customers had opted for Elektrum services, bringing the market share to 13%.
During 2023, the construction of solar parks for Elektrum customers continued actively and the total capacity of panels installed for customers increased significantly. More than 1,600 new contracts for the installation of solar panels and for the remote purchase of shares in solar parks have been signed in the Baltic states.
The total installed capacity of solar panels for retail customers of Elektrum in the Baltic states reached 74 MW, making Latvenergo Group one of the leading providers of this service in the Baltic states. Three fourths of the total capacity is installed for customers outside of Latvia. Three solar parks with a total capacity of almost 19 MW were commissioned in Lithuania in 2023. A total of seven Elektrum solar parks are operating in the Baltic states with a total capacity of 30 MW. The capacity of solar parks will be split into three revenue streams: capacity sold to customers, capacity leased to customers and supply of the energy generated to Elektrum customers.
The development of the charging network for electric cars continued in 2023 as well. By the end of 2023, the Baltic Elektrum Drive charging network had grown to 400 charging ports, and it is also growing rapidly in Lithuania and Estonia. The Elektrum Drive app may be used to charge vehicles on the e-mobi network in Latvia and at LIDL charging stations in Lithuania as well, with a total of 571 charging ports available to customers.
