July 5, 2023
The information is collected from the information provided publicly on the homepage of the “Sadales tīkls”
What makes up an electricity bill?
The electricity bill consists of three main components: the price of electricity, value-added tax (VAT), and the fee for the supply of electricity to the consumer, or for the services of the transmission and distribution system, which are provided in Latvia by A/S “Augstsprieguma tīkls and A/S Sadales tīkls respectively (hereinafter referred to as “ST”). The electricity price is determined by the electricity trader, but the fee for its delivery is calculated according to the electricity distribution system service tariff chosen by you.
Depending on your contract with the trader, the price of electricity itself can be either fixed or dynamic (linked to the price of electricity on the exchange). The distribution and transmission system service tariff, on the other hand, consists of two components: a fixed fee for connection to the electricity grid and a variable part that depends on the amount of electricity supplied.
New tariff plan from July 1
Starting from 1st of July, there will be two types of tariffs: “Pamata” and “Speciālais”, which will differ in the proportion of the fixed and variable parts. 2023. From July 1st, 2023 all existing and new customers will automatically be assigned a connection with technical parameters according to the Pamata tariff plan, which can also be changed by yourself.
The tariff calculation calculator provides an opportunity to compare monthly payments for distribution and transmission services before and after the introduction of the new tariff. By entering the number of phases and amperes of the connection into the calculator, as well as the average monthly electricity consumption, households can find out the indicative amount of the monthly electricity bill, and companies – the fee for distribution and transmission system services.
Calculator: https://sadalestikls.lv/lv/tarifu-kalkulators.
Connection load reduction and tariff change from/to Pamata/Speciālais can be done free of charge and manually on the customer portal of ST: address: www.st.lv. If you plan to reduce the total load of the connection while increasing the load in one phase, remember that load increasing is a paid service.
For active customers, i. e. for companies that use solar panels for self-consumption, in the summer, when the amount of electricity received by ST decreases significantly, the Speciālais tariff will be more advantageous, but in the winter, when self-produced is not enough and a large and stable flow of electricity is needed – the Pamata tariff.
Differences: Pamata tariff vs. Speciālais
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Pamata tariffs 1-3 are intended for regular consumption. A larger fixed part (fee for capacity maintenance, EUR/month) and a smaller variable part (fee for electricity supply, EUR/kWh). Suitable for everyday use, actively using the connection.
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Speciālais tariffs 1-3 are for very small or seasonal consumption. A smaller fixed part and a larger variable part. Suitable for exceptional situations, using the connection irregularly or consuming very little electricity, e.g. to fill the lack of energy from solar batteries on a rainy autumn day or providing electricity to a periodically occupied summer house during the winter period, businesses with seasonal activity, a garage, etc.
Important to know – the tariff changes applied in July, August, and September 2023 will be carried out depending on the customer’s wishes – on the first date of the same or the next month. When applying for a tariff change after October 1, the change will be effective from the first day of the following month.
More detailed tariff changes can be seen in the table:
– Differentiated tariffs for ST services until June 30.
– Differentiated tariffs for ST services starting from July 1. . The companies are mostly subject to the tariff in voltage class 6 – 20 kV lines (unless there is a “kopne”) connection. The tariffs to consider in most cases:
“Pamata-3” tariff (before VAT):
- 0.00696 EUR/kWh – charge for electricity supply,
- 2.96 EUR/kW/month – fee for capacity maintenance.
“Speciālais-3” tariff (before VAT):
- 0.02784 EUR/kWh – charge for electricity supply,
- 1.79 EUR/kW/month – fee for capacity maintenance.
“R-1” tariff (before VAT):
- 0.1445 EUR/kW/month – capacity fee for electricity producers.
Major changes
1) The new ST tariffs set one price for electricity supply 24/7. Hourly electricity consumption data of customers will continue to be available on customer portals of electricity traders and ST customer portal e-st.lv. On the other hand, for customers who, when buying electricity from their electricity dealer, use the merchant tariff linked to the Nord Pool stock exchange prices, the fee per kilowatt will differ hourly, just like before.
2) Both households and legal entities will pay the same for identical connection technical parameters and supplied electricity, and from October tariff changes will be approved only once a month, so you should know your consumption well. Basically, Speciālais tariffs are suitable for very low or seasonal consumption.
Interestingly, when experimenting with the ST calculator, it shows that the benefit of the new tariff is actually for large households, for example with a monthly consumption of 500+kW, and is especially beneficial for companies as well. Also, it doesn’t make financial sense to switch tariffs from Pamata to Speciālais more often than once a season, which would coincide with the time you would use your solar or wind farm connection.
3) Fixed and variable parts stay:
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Fixed part (capacity maintenance fee, EUR/month) – depends on the number of connection phases and capacity; monthly electricity bills change only if the technical parameters of the connection are changed (increased/decreased the permitted load of the connection).
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The variable part (charge for electricity supply, EUR/kWh) – in monthly electricity bills depends on the consumption in the given month.
4) Introduced tariff for commercial producers of electricity – Tariff plan “R-1”. R-1, or the fee for the difference between the permitted export capacity and the permitted consumption load (kW), is intended for commercial producers of electricity, or companies that produce electricity for sale. If the production capacity does not exceed the consumption capacity, as well as for connections with a permitted production capacity of up to 11.1 kW (microgenerators), this fee is not applied.
What is the rationale for the tariff changes? (comments ST)
The total increase in the costs of the specified tariff is 65 million euros per year. It consists of costs independent of the distribution operator – the increase in the transmission tariff (17 million euros), the increase in electricity costs to cover technological consumption (losses) (20 million euros), inflation, and other costs ( 28 million euros).
The tariff changes on ST’s website are explained by the fact that since 2016, the distribution tariff in Latvia has not increased, despite 41.9% cumulative inflation during this period. Various changes have also been made within the framework of the efficiency program, as a result of which, over the course of five years, ST has achieved:
- reduction of the number of employees by 1/3 (-900 employees);
- reduction of the car fleet by 1/3 (-407 units);
- 4 structural units have been closed, and the number of buildings has been reduced by 40 units;
- reorganization of the logistics process;
- a digital, remotely controlled network introduced;
- reduction in the number of network failures.
At the same time, the overall quality of the electricity supply has increased during this period – the number and duration of electricity supply interruptions have been reduced, the smart meter program has been implemented, and network management has been digitized.
Will personal solar stations still be profitable?