Latvian Ministry seeks takeover of Rīgas siltums shares

The Latvian Ministry of Economics has drafted an order to take over the Riga municipality's 49% stake in the heating company AS ‘Rīgas siltums’ into state ownership without compensation. The Ministry argues that this move is necessary to align with the role of Latvenergo, which provides significant residual heat resources and acts as a balancer for the centralized heating system.

In response, Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs has proposed the opposite arrangement. He stated that the municipality is prepared to take over the state's 48.995% stake in ‘Rīgas siltums’ to assume majority shareholder responsibilities, provided the government is open to re-evaluating its holdings.

Currently, the ownership of ‘Rīgas siltums’ is split between the Riga municipality (49%), the state via Latvenergo (48.995%), and a private entity, SIA ‘Enerģijas risinājumi. RIX’ (2%). The Ministry maintains that the current dual-public ownership model requires constant coordination between shareholders, whereas state control would streamline decision-making regarding thermal energy resources.