Latvenergo: Price, Not Availability, Is the Key Natural Gas Issue
State energy company Latvenergo says there is enough gas in the Baltics, but that this does not guarantee a stable price. Filling of the Inčukalns storage facility in October was lower than a year earlier.
Latvenergo, the Latvian state-owned energy group, says the main question in the natural gas market right now is price rather than availability. The company stresses that it holds enough gas for the upcoming 2026/2027 heating season and for electricity generation.
Reserves and supplies
Latvenergo explains that gas stored in the Inčukalns underground facility, secured via the Klaipėda terminal in Lithuania, together with liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes already ordered, covers demand. The gas is intended for electricity and heat production at combined heat and power plants, and for the company's retail customers in all three Baltic states. Bidere, a company representative, said the Inčukalns storage and the Klaipėda LNG terminal are a significant advantage for the entire Baltic region. While this infrastructure operates, a physical gas shortage in Latvia is unlikely, but that does not guarantee a low price. In early June, Latvenergo also reserved Klaipėda terminal capacity for 2033 to 2044.
It was previously reported that AS Latvijas gāze and SIA Elenger have also secured the gas volumes needed for the heating season.
Storage levels
According to a review by the Public Utilities Commission (SPRK), the energy regulator, the Inčukalns facility was 49.4% full on 18 October. A year earlier the figure was 57.7%, so this year's level is 8.3 percentage points lower. European gas storage was about 74% full on that date, also below last year's level.
The EU Gas Storage Regulation, adopted in 2022, requires storage sites to be filled to 90%, but Latvia has an exception: by November it must fill its storage to 35% of national consumption. Inčukalns is considerably larger than domestic consumption. A colder autumn could make further filling harder, as it might bring the heating season forward and raise gas use.
About the company
Latvenergo produces and sells electricity and heat, trades natural gas and provides electricity distribution. In 2025 the group's turnover was €1.566 billion and its profit €198.809 million.
