The Natural Gas Supply of the Latvian Municipality during the Local Energy Crisis

Abstract

Natural gas is an essential element of the Latvian and the Baltic energy portfolio, so its supply disruption can seriously affect the national economy and energy security of our country. The article focuses on a basic case study of the natural gas supply to one of the Latvian municipalities, when the energy crisis is announced. It also marks potential vulnerabilities factors that may cause the natural gas supply shortages or disruption periods of different length for a wide spectrum of the Latvian natural gas consumers-starting with households and finishing with large industrial consumers and energy producers. A legal framework analysis along with an emergency natural gas supply review has been proposed as well, taking into account the actual distribution of the natural gas consumption among the urban energy users, which can be compared with references included into the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 312 "Procedures for the Supply of Energy Users and Sale of Heating Fuel during Declared Energy Crisis and in Case of Endangerment to the State"(hereinafter-Regulation 312).