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Latvia’s industrial energy efficiency policy imposes the implementation of mandatory energy audits and energy management systems in large industrial enterprises and large industrial electricity consumers to improve industrial competitiveness, to move towards a carbon-neutral economy and to increase the security of supply. Companies affected by this energy efficiency policy are obliged to report to the national energy efficiency monitoring system on energy efficiency measures indicated in energy audits or energy management systems with the highest savings or economical potential. The purpose of this study was to assess the initial outcomes of the first industrial energy efficiency program in Latvia, using data from the national energy efficiency monitoring system, including an analysis of individual energy audit reports, and benchmarking it with findings from a similar program, thereby revealing untapped energy efficiency and CO2 emission reduction potential. Although the national monitoring system made it possible to ascertain results of the energy efficiency program, the statistical analysis of the data did not allow for a robust conclusion on the technical or economic industrial energy efficiency potential. This study suggests that Latvia’s energy efficient policy should continue its course in implementation and provides recommendations for improvements on the national energy efficiency monitoring system.

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The European Union’s climate and energy policy for 2030 sets ambitious targets and will challenge current energy use patterns. At the same time, policy objectives are to maintain energy affordable for business and consumers, which means that energy and climate goals should be achieved in the most cost-effective way. There is a well-known energy efficiency gap between effectively implemented energy efficiency measures and potentially economically viable ones. The authors have made a statistical analysis of the energy costs intensity of manufacturing industries in Latvia compared to other Baltic Sea countries and have consented that the three most energy consuming manufacturing industries in Latvia show a higher share of energy costs in total production costs than in their peers over a long period of time, indicating the clearly visible possibilities for energy efficiency improvements. At the same time, Latvian energy policy provides subsidies for energy-intensive manufacturing consumers by reimbursing part of their actual electricity costs. The paper analyses the amounts of reimbursements and their breakdown by manufacturing industries, identifying the most important beneficiaries of subsidies. The authors argue that beneficiaries should direct these subsidies to further energy efficiency improvements.