Constitutional Court opens case on maximum heat purchase price
Latvia's Constitutional Court has opened a case on an Energy Law provision and a regulator's decision capping the price at which independent producers can sell heat to the heating system operator. The application was filed by heat producer SIA Gren Rīga.
Latvia's Constitutional Court on Friday, 30 October, opened a case on whether Part 1.5 of Article 49 of the Energy Law and Decision No. 1/15 of 29 June 2026 by the Public Utilities Commission (the national regulator) comply with Articles 1, 91 and 105 of the Satversme, the Latvian constitution. The dispute concerns the maximum price at which independent producers may sell heat to a heating system operator, so the outcome will affect the terms of heat procurement.
What the contested provisions set
The provisions establish a maximum heat purchase price and the procedure for calculating and applying it. They apply to an operator that supplies users with more than two million megawatt-hours of heat per year.
The applicant's arguments
The case was initiated on the application of licensed heat producer SIA Gren Rīga. The company argues that the price cap and its calculation method ignore investments, actual production costs and other individual circumstances, limiting its ability to use its property for economic benefit.
The producer also points to unequal treatment. In the procurement organised by AS Rīgas siltums for the needs of Riga's right bank, some producers cannot exceed the capped price, while others may additionally sell at an individually set tariff.
The company further says it relied on the cap either not being introduced or being set in response to an emergency in the energy sector, taking each independent producer's actual costs into account. In its view, the provisions infringe the right to property (Article 105), the principle of protection of legitimate expectations (Article 1) and the principle of legal equality (first sentence of Article 91).
Next steps
The court invited the Saeima (parliament) and the Public Utilities Commission to submit written replies, setting out the facts and legal reasoning, by 4 January 2027. The case must be prepared by 30 March 2027, and the court will decide on the form and date of the hearing after preparation.
