One of Estonians’ biggest investments in Latvia was the purchase of Gaso, the local gas network company, in the last year. As the new owner of the company, Eesti Gaas sees opportunities for more efficient management and also for acquiring new customers.
Whether it is the flat area of Kengarags or the residential area of Kekava, gas is still used there. Läti Gaas probably would not have sold the Gaso network company he owned, but there was no other way to get rid of the Russia-linked shareholders.
Eesti Gaas, or its owner Infortar, which invested 120 million euros in the Latvian gas distribution network, was subjected to a thorough inspection by Latvian safety authorities. Gaso has 900 employees and 375,000 customers.
“350,000 customers are families, representing 90% of all gas consumers. However, they purchase only 10% of the gas. On the other hand, 10% of our customers are industries that use 90% of the gas. Such The structure requires daily in-depth work, because 350,000 end consumers is really a large number,” said Ilze Petersone-Godmane, chairman of the board of directors of Gaso.
Latvians have always been diligent consumers of gas. From a boy heating soup in a residential area, to large thermoelectric power plants roaring in Riga. When war broke out in Ukraine, then-Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinš said Latvia needed to reshape the economy and reduce the use of gas. But what did we see? Gas consumption decreased, but has now started to increase again.
“Reduce losses, increase efficiency. This in turn eases pressure on tariffs and the regulator can make appropriate decisions. At the moment, without a doubt, one of our biggest concerns is the low rate of return on capital, and we hope that it will be corrected over time,” said Aivar Tihane, a member of Gaso’s board of directors.
In Latvia, gas network tariffs are known almost five years in advance, although it is true that the possibility of price adjustments is more frequent. Technically the network is in good condition. The fact that Eesti Gaas now manages both sides of the border allows for mutual learning.
“Also in Latvia one of the most important development directions is to connect biogas producers to the distribution network. The legislation exists, the results are not yet visible, but now we are working more in this direction,” said Petersone-Godmane.
“We want to give new impetus to the development of the gas network also in the direction that concerns the connections of new customers”, said Tihane.
For comparison, if Estonia has 1,500 kilometers of gas network, Latvia has more than three times as much, i.e. 5,500 kilometers.
2023-12-14 16:46:00
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