Energy, Energy Market, Industry, Latvia

The bill provides that the monthly energy efficiency fee will be set at 7 percent of electricity consumed during the previous month, and according to the average industrial electricity prices in the previous year, based on Eurostat data.

According to the draft bill, the energy efficient fee will apply to those companies that consume more than 500 megawatt-hours annually and have not announced introduction of a certified energy management system or other energy saving measures.

The fee is meant to eliminate the possibility of inequality between those companies that have adopted an energy management system and companies that have not done this. Furthermore, the fee will not relieve such companies from adopting an energy management system, it is meant to achieve that energy management systems exist at all companies.

Based on a research done by the Riga Technical University's Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, the Economics Ministry assumes that the minimum average cost of introducing an energy efficiency management system at a company is EUR 3,500 for small and medium-size companies, and EUR 10,000 for large companies.