In Latvia gas is commonly used both for heating and for cooking, i.e, in gas stoves. The Latvian natural gas market is yet to be liberalized and currently the monopoly is held by Latvijas Gaze which handles the imports, transmission, storage, as well as sales of gas within the territory of Latvia.
From January 2015 the price for 1 m3 of natural gas is 0.81 EUR for yearly consumption below 500 m3 and 0.52 EUR for yearly consumption between 501 m3 and 25 000 m3. This price includes all taxes.
A client can choose whether to make a balanced payment plan or to pay on a month-to-month basis depending on gas counter readings. It is possible to receive a discount for making gas payments in advance. In turn, one day of delayed payment costs 0.15% of the amount owed. Payments are usually made by bank transfer or through the e-service website.
The electricity market in Latvia is handled by the state-owned Latvenergo and its daughter companies. The company generates around 2/3 of Latvia's electricity, handles its delivery to customers, and works directly with sales.
Latvia uses two standard European plugs: the type C and the type F. The voltage is 220 V.
Latvenergo offers its clients different tariffs that they can select based on their monthly electricity consumption and duration of the contract. For example, the tariff for households that do not consume more than 200 KWh in a month is 0.068 EUR/kWh (contract for 12 months). The tariff for households that consume between 200 and 600 kWh a month is 0.063 EUR/kwh (contract for 24 months).
The electricity bills can be paid online through Latvenergo's e-service website or your internet bank. Alternatively, electricity payments can be done in cash at post offices of Latvijas Pasts, Maxima supermarkets, or Narvasen kiosks.
The supply of water is regional, each local government has contracted one company that deals with this utility service, e.g., Rigas Udens provides water for the clients in Riga, Daugavpils Udens in Daugavpils, Liepajas Udens in Liepaja and so on.
Rigas Udens
In Riga water supply costs 0.76 EUR/m3 including VAT, sewage costs additional 0.79 EUR/m3 including VAT. This makes the total water costs 1.55 EUR/m3 including VAT.
The water consumption is paid based on the water counter readings of the previous month. The bills should be paid by transferring money to one of the bank accounts of Rigas Udens.