In April, the production of solar power plants grew, the price of electricity decreased by 12 percent.

According to Aistė Krasauskienė, head of Litgrid’s Market Development Department, electricity prices were mainly influenced by the growing production of solar power plants, weather changes and prolonged repairs of nuclear reactors in the Nordic countries.

“April was characterized by changeable weather, and its influence was noticeable in the electricity markets as well. In the first half of the month, due to warm and windy weather, the average price of electricity in Lithuania reached 40 EUR/MWh. However, in the second half of the month it got colder in the region, so electricity consumption increased significantly due to the need for heating,” A. Krasauskienė is quoted as saying in the report.

“Due to cold weather and reduced wind production, the price of electricity in the second half of the month doubled on average to 80 EUR/MWh. Despite the low temperatures, solar plants continued to break production records, reaching more than 700 MW at midday at the end of the month. And in the first days of May, the production peaks of solar power plants are already approaching 900 MW,” she added.

According to the manager of Litgrid’s Market Development Department, the electricity supply in the region was reduced by the repairs of nuclear reactors in the Nordic countries.

“Lithuania is part of the common European electricity market, so electricity prices are affected by the situation in other countries. In recent months, the repairs of nuclear reactors in the Nordic countries have contributed to the increase in prices, especially in those periods when wind and solar power plants produce less electricity in the region,” explained A. Krasauskienė.

According to her, Finland’s largest nuclear reactor, Olkiluoto 3, is still undergoing repairs, although the planned end of work was scheduled for April 8.

“The long-drawn-out repairs overlapped with the repairs of two more reactors in Sweden, and at the end of the month, the repairs of another reactor in Finland also started. At the end of the month, as many as 4 reactors with a total capacity of 5 GW were unavailable in our region at one time,” the head of the department noted.

The highest electricity price in the region is in Poland

In Latvia, the price of electricity was the same as in Lithuania, and in Estonia it was 0.2 EUR/MWh higher.

The biggest price change was recorded in the Finnish trade zone, where the price of electricity decreased by 18 percent. from 59 Eur/MWh to 49 Eur/MWh. The price of electricity decreased in all trading zones of the Baltic Sea region, except for Poland. In Poland, the price of electricity grew by 7 percent. from 75 Eur/MWh to 81 Eur/MWh and was the most expensive in the region.

The average price of electricity in April in the Lithuanian price zone was 60.2 EUR/MWh, and in the same period in 2022 and 2023 it reached 116.5 and 67.3 EUR/MWh, respectively, Litgrid reported.

Electricity consumption in Lithuania reached 953 GWh provisionally last month. Compared to March, the average monthly electricity consumption decreased by 5 percent.

Wind farms produced the most

According to “Litgrid” data, a total of 633 GWh of electricity was produced in Lithuania in April – 4 percent. more than in March, when the generation reached 611 GWh. Local power plants provided 66 percent. of the country’s electricity consumption.

Analyzing preliminary Lithuanian production data, wind farms produced the most in April – about 45 percent. of all Lithuanian production. Their generation decreased by 5 percent during the month. from 301 GWh to 284 GWh. The production of solar power plants increased by 33 percent. from 93 GWh to 125 GWh. The production of thermal power plants connected to the transmission network grew by 28 percent. from 62 GWh to 79 GWh. Hydroelectric generation decreased by 8 percent. from 93 GWh to 86 GWh. The generation of other power plants remained similar to a month ago – about 60 GWh, the report said.

The total import flow was 43 percent. consumption of the country. Import to Lithuania reached 570 GWh, compared to March data, it decreased by 14 percent. from 660 GWh. In April, imports from Scandinavia through the NordBalt connection amounted to 61 percent, from Latvia – 18 percent, and 21 percent were imported from Poland. Exports rose 43 percent last month compared to March, from 113 GWh to 162 GWh. The largest share of exports was directed to Poland – 61 percent, 33 percent. – to Latvia, and the remaining 6 percent. to Sweden.