Conexus: natural gas consumption went up in the first nine months of the year

The turnover of the gas transmission and storage system operator Conexus Baltic Grid AS (Conexus) in the first nine months of this year reached EUR 70.9 million, which is 35% more than in the same period of the previous year, according to the company's compiled data on operating results for the first nine months of 2024. Natural gas consumption for Latvian users increased by 19% to 6.3 TWh in the reporting period.

At the end of the reporting period - 30 September 2024 - the Inčukalns Underground Gas Storage (UGS) stored 19.3 TWh of natural gas (including 1.8 TWh of energy security reserves). At the start of the official withdrawal season on 15 October 2024, 19.5 TWh of natural gas had been stored in the Inčukalns UGS, representing almost 80% of the total storage capacity.

During the natural gas injection season, 52.8% of the total gas entering the Latvian and Estonian gas system came from Finland, 46.9% from Lithuania and 0.3% from biomethane produced in Latvia. Biomethane production and injection into the grid started in 2024 and 0.04 TWh of biomethane was produced in the reporting period.

Consumption of natural gas for Latvian users in the first nine months of 2024 amounted to 6.3 TWh, which is 19% more than last year. The increase in consumption was driven by a number of factors, including winter weather conditions which increased heating needs, lower prices which boosted natural gas consumption, as well as higher electricity generation at the country's largest thermal power plants. The total volume of natural gas transported amounted to 19.2 TWh, a decrease of 17% compared to the same period of the previous year.

"Conexus has continued to ensure stable operation of the infrastructure in the nine months, maintaining a high utilisation of the Inčukalns underground gas storage facility, which confirms the company's ability to guarantee the security of energy supply and to provide the volume of gas required by the system users. At the same time, the company is actively responding to market changes, including technological processes and the need to develop sustainable energy sources. Currently, Conexus provides metering for two biomethane direct injection points connected to the distribution network, and it is planned to increase the number of feed-in points in the future," said Uldis Bariss, Conexus' Chief Executive Officer

In the first nine months of 2024, Conexus ensured uninterrupted natural gas supplies to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland from April this year, when the Balticconnector subsea pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia was restored to operation. Natural gas deliveries from Inčukalns UGS amounted to 7.1 TWh, an increase of 2.1 times, 5.6 TWh from Finland, 1.4 times more, and 6.5 TWh from Lithuania, 2.3 times less than last year.

Stable financial performance

Conexus showed growth in its financial performance in the first nine months of the year. As a result of the revenue growth, EBITDA increased 1.5 times to €51.6 million, while profit reached €33.5 million, 7.1 times more than in the same period a year ago. The increase in profit was driven by the growth in revenue and EBITDA, which reflects the Company's successful operations and efficient cost management, as well as the review of the value of the storage system assets, which reduced the Company's depreciation charges, improving the cost structure and increasing profitability.