Riga, 2013-12-12 12:14 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yesterday, on 11 December, Latvenergo AS unveiled one of its largest and most significant investment projects – the new Riga TEC-2 with the reconstructed second power unit of the combined heat and power plant (TEC-2/2). From now on, the new plant and the previously reconstructed Riga TEC-1 and Riga TEC-2/1 can guarantee so-called base load capacity, almost entirely supporting Latvia’s electricity consumption.

The TEC-2 opening event was attended by Āris Žīgurs, Latvenergo AS Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer, Māris Kuņickis, Latvenergo AS Member of the Management Board and Chief Operating Officer, Ergil Ersü, Chairman of the GAMA Holding, and Ugur Yurdakul, Member of the Board at the GAMA Holding.

After the reconstruction, the total cogeneration thermal energy capacity of TEC-2 (both power units) is 544 MW, while its electrical capacity in the cogeneration mode is 832 MW and in the condensation mode – 881 MW. With its water boilers, the total thermal energy capacity of Riga TEC-2 reaches 1124 MW.

This project has accomplished reconstruction of Riga TEC-2 – one of the largest and most significant investment projects in the history of Latvia and Latvenergo AS.

The new power plant is environmentally friendly – it has minimised the amount of CO2 emissions per unit of energy generated, with the important added advantage of high efficiency. The new power unit at TEC-2 is capable of generating three times as much electricity per unit of heat compared to the old power units built in the 1970s. It is also notable that the reconstructed Riga CHPPs guarantee base load capacities and ensure reliable electricity supply in Latvia and the Baltic States, having a stabilising influence on prices in the region.

Combined heat and power plants are an essential element of the Latvenergo AS generation portfolio, allowing the Group to maintain a stable electricity trader’s position on the Baltic market. In an open electricity market environment, CHPPs have the advantage of flexible response to changes in gas and electricity prices on the market; they enable an economically sound choice between generating electricity and purchasing it on an exchange. Availability of combined heat and power plants also mitigates the risk of electricity price increase.

The Riga TEC-2 is intended to generate heat in the cogeneration mode for the district heating system of the part of Riga on the right bank of the Daugava. Cogeneration is the most efficient mode of generation, allowing generating thermal energy and electricity simultaneously. The availability of resources necessary for generating such volumes of heat and the low CO2 emissions per unit of energy generated are the factors marking out gas cogeneration as the most effective mode of generation in our region, which also contributes to Latvia’s energy self-sufficiency and independence.

The general contractor for the Riga TEC-2/2 project was Turkish company GAMA GÜC Sistemleri Muhendislik ve Taahhut, which designed ​​the new TEC-2 generation facility, supplied the equipment and performed installation and commissioning works.

A decade of reconstructing Riga CHPPs

June 2003 – November 2005: reconstruction of Riga TEC-1. The project was implemented by a Siemens group company in Sweden, Demag Delaval Industrial Turbomachinery AB.

January 2006 – January 2009: reconstruction of the first power unit of Riga TEC-2. The project was implemented by Spanish company IBERDROLA Ingenieria y Consultoria S.A.U. / Iberdrola Generacion S.A.U.

March 2010 – December 2013: reconstruction of the second power unit of Riga TEC-2. The project was implemented by Turkish company GAMA GÜC Sistemleri Muhendislik ve Taahnut.

Additional information:
Jānis Irbe
Group Treasurer
Phone: +371 67 728 239
E-mail: investor.relations@latvenergo.lv

www.latvenergo.lv

About Latvenergo

Latvenergo Group is a pan-Baltic energy company, engaging in electricity and thermal energy generation and supply, electricity distribution services and management of transmission system assets. Latvenergo Group holds one-third of the entire Baltic electricity market, thus ensuring its leadership in the Baltic electricity supply. Latvenergo AS has been acknowledged as the most valuable company in Latvia for several years in a row. International credit rating agency Moody’s has assigned Latvenergo AS an investment-grade credit rating of Baa3/stable.

Latvenergo Group includes the parent company Latvenergo AS (electricity and thermal energy generation and supply) and its subsidiaries Latvijas elektriskie tīkli AS (management of transmission system assets), Sadales tīkls AS (electricity distribution), Elektrum Eesti OÜ (electricity  supply in Estonia), Elektrum Lietuva UAB (electricity  supply in Lithuania) and Liepājas enerģija SIA (thermal energy generation and supply, electricity generation), as well as Elektrum Latvija SIA (electricity supply), a subsidiary of Elektrum Eesti OÜ.