Two state-owned companies with different tasks – electricity transmission system operator JSC Augstsprieguma tīkls and distribution system operator JSC Sadales tīkls – have started competing for large customers, which is not correct, the Economic, Environmental, Agrarian and Regional Policy Commission of the Saeima said on Tuesday. Jurģis Miezainis, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In the Saeima commission, where the issue of the impact of the electricity transmission system tariff project on the economy was discussed, the chairman of the commission Ralfs Nemiro (KPV LV) explained that last year a call to review tariffs was given to both the Distribution Network and the High Voltage Network. “Sadales tīkls” tariffs were revised and reduced from the beginning of this year, while “Augstsprieguma tīkls”, although it was instructed to reduce the tariff by 2-3%, in August applied to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with a request to increase tariffs.
At the same time, the chairman of the board of “High Voltage Network” Varis Boks explained that the company does not plan to increase the tariff – according to the company’s calculations, tariffs are expected to decrease by 2%. The company’s costs have been reduced by 1.5 million euros.
“The story is that someone’s tariff has risen. It’s a division between connection groups – it hits exactly the connection group that belongs to the ‘Distribution Networks’, because other large industrial users connected to the transmission network actually the tariff is falling, “said Box, stressing that the accusations from the” Distribution Network “that the company will have to raise the tariff in the future are not really correct.
Box said the new methodology focuses on the power component, including energy efficiency.
“Those who use more than 20% of capacity will have a tariff reduction. Those who use capacity very inefficiently, below 20%, will, unfortunately, have a tariff increase. This also applies to the” Distribution Network “, which has historically had a” High Voltage Network “. “The substations have high-capacity transformers. This is from the Soviet era, when there was a lot of consumption in rural areas, but now it is missing. These transformers are only 10-15% loaded. Thus, according to the new methodology, tariffs are also increasing,” said Box.
Nemiro, on the other hand, expressed that large Latvian companies are also connecting to the transmission networks, thus disconnecting from the “Distribution Networks”. “Of course, the Distribution Network and the High Voltage Network have their own costs, but moving a large company from the Distribution Network to the High Voltage Network does not, of course, reduce the costs for the Distribution Network and increase the revenue for the High Voltage Network.” he said.
At the same time, Boks stated that this is natural, because the companies have economically calculated and evaluated how much the service costs when operating through the “Distribution Network” and how much it costs when connecting to the transmission network.
“Connection is a company’s investment. They calculate the investment to pay off. In the end, two companies have switched directly to transmission, bypassing the Distribution Network. I would say that this is a cross-subsidization move, as industrial consumers are given the freedom to assess I can’t blame much, because the calculation is economically justified, “said Box, explaining that the” Distribution Network “imposes the full amount of” Distribution Network “costs on these consumers, forcing cross – subsidization on households and small users.
Sandis Jansons, chairman of the board of the distribution network, pointed out that political decisions should be made about who is engaged in servicing transformers – currently the High Voltage Network does it, but if it is necessary to reduce capacity, it is a “long and laborious story”.
“There are things we can do together more efficiently, at lower cost, and reduce the whole common tariff story,” Jansons said, adding that a discussion is needed to work together to find solutions.
Miezainis, Parliamentary Secretary of the MoE, stated that in May the MoE issued an opinion to PUC on its methodology, stating that the main duty of the electricity transmission system operator is to ensure the safe operation of the electricity transmission system, including adequate transmission network capacity, stable system operation and adequate electricity supply. transportation.
“Each of the electricity market participants has a role to play – distribution has a distribution role and transmission has a transmission role. Therefore, if the system is currently developed so that transmission starts in the retail field, it is not in line with the common energy policy,” said Miezainis. , emphasizing that, at present, two state – owned companies, which by their very nature have two different tasks in the field of energy, are beginning to compete.
“Entrepreneurs should not create their own distribution network. They should be engaged in the economic activity in which they engage,” said Miezainis, explaining that it is not right for companies engaged in wood processing or metalworking, or any other production, to engage in “half distribution” operation.
The Parliamentary Secretary of the MoE pointed out that there are some companies that have historically been connected to the transmission, but from the point of view of the common energy policy it is not correct to create a system that motivates companies to switch from distribution to transmission.
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