Questions and answers

"Latvijas Gāze" AS purchases natural gas for customers in the required quantity from the producer or on the secondary market, while the transportation of the produced natural gas is provided to customers by the transmission and distribution operators "Conexus Baltic Grid" AS and "Gaso" AS.

• "Latvijas Gāze" AS - Natural gas wholesaler and trader with the largest number of household customers. "Latvijas Gāze" AS concludes agreements with customers, and issues invoices for all services related to the trade and transportation of natural gas.
• "Conexus Baltic Grid" AS- Manages the Inčukalns underground storage and main gas pipelines connecting Latvia with Lithuania and Estonia.
• "Gaso" AS- natural gas distribution system operator - ensures the supply from the transmission system to the final consumers.

Natural gas price encompasses not only the price of the natural gas itself as a commodity, but also trading, storage and transmission capacity services.

Until 30 April 2023: The natural gas price for households is regulated by the Public Utilities Commission.

From 1 May 2023: The price of natural gas is determined by the free market. The Universal Service natural gas price in a given trading period cannot exceed the reference price specified in the Cabinet Regulations. The distribution system operator GASO is responsible for calculating and publishing the reference price on its website.

The natural gas price is only one of the five components that make up the total payment for natural gas and is the only one that differs between all natural gas traders.

In addition to the natural gas price, the following components are included in the invoice:

• Distribution – determined by GASO for the supply of natural gas within the borders of the city. Consists of a fixed and a variable part (depending on natural gas consumption).
• Transmission (starting point) – determined by Conexus Baltic Grid for the transportation of natural gas through the main pipelines.
• Excise duty – determined and regulated by the State.

Value added tax 21% – determined and regulated by the State.

The price of natural gas is determined by the single European natural gas exchange and it is influenced by several factors:

• Weather conditions,
• Availability in storage,
• Natural gas demand,
• Pipeline load/availability and technical condition (ruptures, repairs, etc.),
• Geopolitics.