The basic principles for the creation of a single Baltic natural gas market are discussed during the meeting of the World Energy Council

Today, on 13 August, a visit to the Incukalns Underground Gas Storage Facility (Incukalns UGS) took place as part of the 6th Baltic Sea Region Round Table Meeting of the World Energy Council (PEP), during which the leading industry experts discussed the region's gas supply policy and the principles of formation of the single Baltic natural gas market, informs AS Conexus Baltic Grid (Conexus), the operator of the natural gas management and storage system.

The purpose of the discussion was to talk about the principles of creation of the single Baltic natural gas market, goals and challenges in the formation of effective energy policy, as well as to learn about the operation and importance of the Incukalns UGS in the single market scheme.

Opening the panel discussion, Zane Kotāne, the Chairwoman of the Board of AS Conexus Baltic Grid, emphasised the importance of creating a single Baltic market: “We have made the first step towards creating a single market, but important strategic decisions are still ahead to jointly promote the security of gas supply in the region, competitiveness of the market participants and transparency of rates. By sharing experiences from other countries, we have the opportunity to look for the best solutions and define the next steps to be taken, which will also be the main focus of today's discussion.”

During the discussion, experts discussed the challenges related to the current decrease in demand for natural gas, the reasons that may hinder the creation of a single Baltic market, as well as talked about the feasible solutions to improve the overall competitiveness of natural gas in the market. Of these, special attention was paid to the development of a transparent market framework and rates for the management and storage of natural gas, and the integration of Lithuania into the single market. The experts also addressed a need for new digital solutions to achieve more efficient market communication.

The meeting of the World Energy Council will take place in Riga on 12 and 13 August, bringing together the leading representatives of the Baltic states in the energy sector, politicians, and the WEC regional managers from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Germany.