Over a year following the first delivery of liquid natural gas to the offshore terminal at Klaipeda in Lithuania, the country is struggling to keep the price of gas down for customers. 

Maintenance of the terminal has been more costly than initially thought, and a government scheme to finance it will lead to heating bills in Lithuania increasing for most end users.

The country’s Energy Minister, Rokas Masiulis, put the maintenance scheme to parliament, and in the second time of asking got it through the house to be discussed further next month.

While Lithuania gained gas independence from Russia’s monopoly with the introduction of the LNG terminal last year, the jubilation experienced on the delivery of the first shipment from Norway appeared to be short lived.

Gas usage has decreased significantly over the last number of years changing the economics of the terminal at Klaipeda. Some estimates suggest gas usage in Lithuania is only 60% of what it was four years ago.

The scheme being proposed could see heating bills in Lithuania rise over 2% in most regions. However, the government has said that bills may also fall for those in some urban areas.