Public electricity will continue to be cheaper
“VERT approved the upper limit of the public electricity price. An average price of 19.2 cents per kWh was set. Now Ignitis has to differentiate the price for different plans. And from what I’ve heard, Ignitis’ most popular single plan (Standard – ed.) will be around 19 cents per kilowatt hour. This is 2 cents cheaper than the current rate”, Council Chairman Renatas Pocius told reporters on Friday.
According to him, the price of electricity for consumers of public supply decreases with a decrease in the price in the market.
“If (Ignitis” – ed.) there were no surplus profits, the price would be 21.5 cents per kWh. We plan to set the public price by the end of this month. We must have a decision on the differentiated price by May 31 at the latest,” added R. Pocius.
According to the chairman, VERT will not review the regulated share, it will not change from July, but independent electricity suppliers are said to react to market changes and adjust their share in the final price accordingly.
“Independent suppliers update their plans, their offers reflect trends and market conditions. If we set the prices once a quarter, then the suppliers – roughly speaking, once a week”, said the chairman of VERT.
On Thursday, the regulator already approved the upper limits of the public supply price, they are 8-12 percent. lower than currently established. It can be expected that the already final, differentiated tariff for household consumers will decrease accordingly.
When purchasing electricity from medium voltage (MV) networks, the price including VAT will reach 12.544 cents per kilowatt hour (12.28 percent less than the current limit). In low voltage (LV) networks – 19.221 cents per kWh with VAT (8.37 percent less than now).
Stability in the gas market
According to R. Pociaus, when it comes to natural gas, the situation is stabilizing.
“Since the prices are not predicted to fluctuate much, we predict that the tariffs set now could remain at a similar level and not change.” For the first group – 1.05 and for the second group – 59 cents per cubic meter. So far we are talking about half a year. But if the parliament approves, it will be adjusted every quarter. If this happens, there will be different tariffs from October,” said R. Pocius.
According to him, fluctuations in the wholesale market are not predicted.
“Of course, nobody knows what geopolitical things can happen. The projected price is 31 euros per MWh. We agreed with Ignitis on the algorithm that the price portfolio for household consumers should be differentiated: part of the gas according to the prices on the stock exchange, part of the portfolio – the price is insured, the price is fixed according to today’s data”, said the chairman of VERT.
The second decrease in the price of electricity this year
Gas and public electricity prices are usually recalculated twice a year (half-yearly). However, this year already in February it was decided to set new tariffs for the second quarter of this year (March-May). In the near future, the Seimas will decide whether to allow revision of tariffs more often.
“There are initiatives in the Seimas to set VERT tariffs quarterly, instead of every six months. The main reason is that tariffs could reflect market trends more quickly,” said R. Pocius.
When gas became cheaper on the market, its price for consumers was reduced, and taking into account the million dollar overpayment received by ESO, the price of public electricity was also adjusted and the regulated part of the price for people with an independent electricity supplier. Consumers who produce electricity have also received changes.
Thus, natural gas for domestic consumers has become cheaper by 24 cents per cubic meter since April 1:
For consumers of the first group, who use gas for cooking and consume up to 300 cubic meters per year, gas now costs EUR 1.05 per cubic meter (VAT included). For residents of the second group, using gas for heating – 0.59 euros. Gas costs EUR 0.55 per cubic meter for the third group that consumes the most. The fixed parts of the tariff did not change.
The public electricity supply provided by the company “Ignitis” has been reduced to 0.5 cent since April 1. For example, the most popular “Standard” plan, in one time zone, varied from 21.9 cents to 21.4 cents per kWh:
According to VERT data, public electricity is supplied to 457 thousand residents who consume the least amount of electricity (up to 1000 kWh per year) and who belong to the third stage of market liberalization, but who have not chosen an independent supplier.
From April 1, the new ESO transmission prices came into force – this is part of the regulated electricity price, which also affects the final price of independent suppliers and guaranteed supply, which also decreased by fractions of a cent.
