If the parliament passes the amendments to the Law on Electricity, the public supply of electricity to household consumers in the third phase will stop on January 1, 2026, giving them more time to choose their independent supplier.
The Energy Ministry says the move comes in response to soaring electricity prices in the market and the suspension of operations by Perlas Energija, an independent electricity supplier.
The average electricity price on the Nord Pool exchange surged from 223 euros per megawatt-hour in June to 480 euros in August, according to the ministry.
"The third phase of electricity market liberalization involves some 814,000 household customers and 53 percent of them have not yet chosen an independent supplier," Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys told the Cabinet. "The proposed changes are relevant for around 430,000 household customers."
"Consumption in the third category (of customers) is relatively low and the weight on the overall electricity market will be very limited," he added.
According to the latest data from the Lithuanian Energy Agency, 1.14 million consumers, or 69 percent of all household consumers, have already chosen their independent supplier, and 519,000 (31 percent) have not done so. Of these, 429,000 fall into the third liberalization phase and 83,000 are first and second category consumers who receive a guaranteed supply service.
Currently, December 18, 2022 is the deadline for consumers who use up to 1,000 kWh of electricity per year and fall into the third category to choose an independent supplier, and the liberalization of the market is scheduled to be completed by January 2023.