"Last winter, January was one of the warmest on record, while this winter is one of the coldest. We haven't seen a winter like this in the last 15 years, and we also saw historically the highest electricity consumption in terms of capacity," said Čakste, adding that everything available was utilized at such consumption. The thermal power plants of "Latvenergo" operated at nearly full capacity for two months, meaning that fossil resources, including those from Estonia and Lithuania, determined the electricity price in the region. According to Čakste, last year had a warm winter, the water inflow was higher, and consequently, more electricity was available from hydroelectric plants (HEPs). This year, on the contrary, the cold weather coincided with a decrease in electricity generation from wind, and the water inflow at HEPs was significantly below average levels. "This led to a price increase of about 83%, but this is related to several objective factors," said the head of "Latvenergo."