THE ROLE OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ON THE USE OF FIREWOOD IN LATVIAN DISTRICT HEATING

This paper evaluates the role of local government as energy consumer, producer and supplier on the use of firewood in Latvian district heating, and further described results are obtained. From local governments' point of view it is crucial to reduce heat energy consumption in order to reduce the necessary costs for providing it. It can be done by increasing energy efficiency. As a result, along with decreasing heat consumption, heat load would also be reduced; the structure of energy resources used in the production of heat energy would be indirectly affected as well. The use of firewood in such case could not only decrease, but also increase, due to formation of such situations when it would be possible to provide the approved heat energy temperature schedule by using only firewood at lower outside temperature. Simultaneously, doing its autonomous functions, local government is not only heat energy consumer, but also producer and supplier as it is responsible for managing heat supply within boundaries of its administrative territory. Thus, local government can attract investment for modernisation of heat supply enterprises through private investors, for example, introducing public and private partnership in heat energy production, wherewith also to great extent influencing the development of firewood use in its administrative territory.