In April 2013, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006 / EC, amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 (Infrastructure Regulation in Latvian and in English). In accordance with the procedure laid down in the Infrastructure Regulation, infrastructure development projects included in the list of projects of common interest (PCIs) of the European Union (EU) are assessed and identified. The PCIs are important EU energy infrastructure projects, in particular cross-border interconnection projects with a significant cross-border impact, contributing significantly to the integration of energy markets, security of supply, competition and sustainability.
The PCIs are considered to be projects of public interest and should contribute to the achievement of EU energy policy and climate goals by linking national energy systems. Inclusion of a project in the PCI list ensures:
- accelerated authorisation procedures;
- assessment of cost allocation (e.g. if two countries are involved in the project);
- the possibility to apply for funding of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Regulation in Latvian and in English).
The CIP list shall be approved every two years by a Commission Delegated Regulation.
Three PCI lists have been approved by the European Commission Delegated Regulation – the 1st list in 2013, the 2nd list in 2015, the 3rd list in 2017 and the 4th list in 2019.
The 4th PCI list (in Latvian and in English) includes the following projects related to the power supply in Latvia:
- Interconnection between substations Kilingi-Nomme (EE) and Riga TEC-2 (LV) (Estonian-Latvian 3rd Interconnection); CEF support = EUR 112,301,701 for construction;
- Internal line from Riga TEC-2 to Riga HPP; CEF support = EUR 9,990,000 for construction;
- Interconnection Tartu (EE) - Valmiera (LV); CEF support = EUR 125 000 for environmental impact assessment (together with Tsirgulina - Valmiera connection);
- Interconnection Tsirgulina (EE) - Valmiera (LV);
- Integration and synchronization of the Baltic States electricity transmission system with the mainland European grid; CEF support for Latvia = EUR 57,750,000 (Phase 1) and EUR 55,500,00 (Phase 2).
The Regulator has prepared an informative material on the activities carried out during the evaluation of investments in electricity and natural gas projects.
In accordance with the tasks defined by the Infrastructure Regulation, the Regulator has taken the following decisions:
- On April 9, 2014, Decision No.77 on the allocation of investment costs for a project of common interest "Domestic line at Ventspils, Tume and Imanta (LV)";
- On April 24, 2014, Decision No.90 on the allocation of investment costs for projects of common interest "Interconnection between Kilingi-Nomme (EE) and Riga TEC 2 Substation (LV)" and "Internal line between Hark and Sindi (EE)";
- On July 14, 2016, Decision No.111 on the allocation of investment costs for a project of common interest "Internal line between Riga TEC2 - Riga HPP (LV)";
- On Sptemebr 6, 2018, Decision No.101 on the allocation of investment costs for a project of common interest "Integration and synchronization of the Baltic States electricity transmission system with the mainland European grid phase 1";
- On May 7, 2020, Decision No.47 on the allocation of investment costs for a project of common interest "Integration and synchronization of the Baltic States electricity transmission system with the mainland European grid phase 2".