“There is no money left for basic groceries.” CTV passed off a rise in the exchange electricity price as a tariff increase in Latvia

Context: The real average salary in Latvia increased by 6.3% in 2025. On average, residents of the country receive more than €1,300 after taxes are deducted. This is about twice as much as in Belarus.

On March 5, 2026, CTV’s 24 chasa news show reported that “Latvian residents were facing the difficult question of how to survive after paying their utility bills.” 

“The price of electricity in the Baltic republic has increased by 83% this winter. After paying these increased costs, there is no money left for basic groceries. Even Latvenergo, the country’s main electricity supplier, recognized this. The company agreed that the increase impacted both citizens’ budgets and businesses’ expenses. However, they claim there is nothing they can do, blaming the weather, the technical condition of the entire energy system, and gas tariffs,” the presenter said.

Indeed, Latvenergo stated that the electricity price was about 83% higher than usual this winter, at about 15 cents per kilowatt hour. However, this was the exchange price. About three-quarters of consumers use fixed tariffs for households, which start at 16 euro cents per kilowatt hour and have not changed since last winter.

The increase in electricity bills is not due to higher tariffs, but rather to the fact that Latvian residents consumed 15% more electricity during the cold weather. A distribution fee was also introduced on January 1 for some consumers, as part of the electricity tariff. However, this amount is fixed and will only increase their monthly bill by about €1–3.