AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius (ESO)

AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius (commonly known as ESO) is Lithuania’s national electricity and natural gas distribution system operator (DSO). ESO plans, builds, operates, and maintains the low- and medium-voltage electricity networks and the low-pressure natural gas distribution network across Lithuania, connecting households and businesses, ensuring metering and quality of supply, and enabling the integration of distributed energy resources.

Company Overview

Legal name: AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius (ESO)
Brand: ESO
Industry sector: Energy (Electricity and Natural Gas Distribution System Operations)
Founded: 2015 (operational from 2016 following the reorganization/merger of AB LESTO and AB Lietuvos dujos distribution activities)
Headquarters: Vilnius, Lithuania

Legal Information

Įmonės kodas (Company code): 304151376
PVM mokėtojo kodas (VAT code): LT304151376
Legal form: Akcinė bendrovė (AB)
Official website: https://www.eso.lt
General email: info@eso.lt
Registered office address: (Publicly associated with Ignitis Group headquarters) Žvejų g. 14, LT-09310 Vilnius, Lithuania
Main customer phone (Lithuania): 1852
Electricity outage/faults hotline: 1852
Gas emergency hotline: 1804
From abroad (customer service): +370 611 21852
Note: ESO’s corporate and registered address is linked to the Ignitis Group campus; specific legal address confirmations should be cross-checked on the official registry and ESO’s website.

Business Operations

Main services:
- Electricity distribution network operation (low/medium voltage), maintenance, and development
- Natural gas distribution network operation (low-pressure), maintenance, and development
- New customer connections (electricity and gas), grid access planning, and technical conditions
- Metering services (including smart metering rollout and remote reading)
- Outage management, network reliability/quality management (SAIDI/SAIFI)
- Integration of distributed generation (solar/RES), prosumer metering, and connection solutions

Business model: Regulated monopoly for distribution networks. Revenues are set by the national regulator VERT (Valstybinė energetikos reguliavimo taryba) under revenue-cap and allowed return on regulated asset base (RAB/WACC). Tariffs are reviewed periodically to reflect investments, efficiency targets, and quality-of-service metrics.

Scale and customers: ESO serves the vast majority of Lithuania’s electricity consumers (over 1.6–1.8 million connection points) and gas distribution customers (circa 0.5–0.6 million), operating a nationwide network that connects urban and rural regions.

History

- 2015–2016 formation: ESO was established in late 2015 and began operations on 1 January 2016 following the reorganization of Lithuania’s distribution activities, combining AB LESTO (electricity distribution) and AB Lietuvos dujos (gas distribution segment).
- 2016–2019 consolidation: ESO integrated processes, systems, and field operations to create a unified DSO responsible for both electricity and low-pressure gas distribution.
- 2020 group brand change: Parent company AB Ignitis grupė introduced the “Ignitis” brand; ESO continued operating under its established name while aligning corporate governance and reporting with the Group.
- 2021–2024 modernization: ESO launched a large-scale smart electricity metering program and accelerated grid digitalization, resilience upgrades, and prosumer integration, in line with EU decarbonization and energy transition targets.

Financial Information

Revenue: ESO’s revenues are derived from regulated distribution tariffs and related services. In Ignitis Group’s reporting, ESO comprises the “Networks” segment. For 2023, the Networks segment revenue was reported in the range of several hundred million euros (public disclosures have indicated approximately €0.8–0.9 billion revenue at segment level; exact ESO-only revenue should be confirmed in the Group’s Annual Report and ESO’s statutory financial statements).
Profitability: Earnings reflect regulated returns on RAB and incentives tied to efficiency and quality targets.
Funding rounds: Not applicable; ESO is a wholly owned subsidiary and finances investments primarily via regulated cash flows and debt at the Group level.
Ownership: 100% owned by AB Ignitis grupė (listed on Nasdaq Vilnius and London; majority owned by the Republic of Lithuania via the Ministry of Finance).

Note: For precise year-by-year revenue, EBITDA and capex figures, consult AB Ignitis grupė Consolidated Annual Report and ESO’s separate annual financial statements.

Leadership and Management

Vadovai (Executives):
- Generalinis direktorius (CEO): Renaldas Radvila (as reported in ESO/Group communications; confirm current status on ESO’s website)
- Other executive roles (Finance, Operations, Network Development, Customer Service, HR) are part of the ESO management team; the exact names and titles are periodically updated and should be verified on ESO’s official “Vadovybė” page.

Valdyba (Board):
ESO has a Board that includes representatives aligned with Ignitis Group governance. Historically, the Board has included Group executives and ESO management. Current composition (chairperson, independent members, and other directors) should be confirmed on ESO’s or Ignitis Group’s governance pages, as membership can change with corporate governance cycles.

Note: If you require the latest, complete list of executives and board members, refer to the official ESO site and the Ignitis Group governance disclosures.

Office Locations

Registered office: Žvejų g. 14, LT-09310 Vilnius, Lithuania (associated with Ignitis Group HQ).
Customer service channels: Primary service via telephone 1852 and online self-service at https://www.eso.lt.
Regional operational bases: ESO operates depots and bases across Lithuania (e.g., Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Alytus, Marijampolė, Tauragė, Telšiai, Utena). These locations support field operations (construction, maintenance, fault response). Specific street addresses and local phone numbers are not consolidated publicly for walk-in service; customers are directed to the central hotline and digital channels.

Note: If you need a particular depot address for logistics or project coordination, ESO typically provides details through project contracts or upon request via the central contact channels.

Market Position

Role: ESO is Lithuania’s sole nationwide electricity and gas DSO, operating as a regulated natural monopoly in its service areas.
Competitors: No direct competitors in distribution (natural monopoly). Comparable regional DSOs include Elektrilevi (Estonia) and Sadales tīkls (Latvia). Competition exists upstream/downstream (generation, retail supply), but not in the regulated distribution function.
Market share: Near-100% in electricity and low-pressure gas distribution within Lithuania’s regulated framework.
Competitive advantages: National coverage, regulated investment program, smart metering rollout, integration of prosumers and new loads (EV charging), experienced field operations, and alignment with Ignitis Group’s financing capacity and governance.

Recent Developments

- Smart metering: Accelerated deployment of smart electricity meters, with large-scale rollout underway (2021–2025), enabling remote readings and better demand-side management.
- Grid modernization: Ongoing investments in network automation, digital substations, and resilience (storm-hardening, underground cabling where justified).
- Renewable integration: Expanded connection capacity for distributed solar and storage; process improvements for prosumers and small-scale generators.
- Regulatory updates: Tariff adjustments and WACC decisions by VERT affecting revenue forecasts and investment plans (latest decisions should be checked on VERT’s site).

Contact Information

Website: https://www.eso.lt
Email: info@eso.lt
Customer service (Lithuania): 1852
Electricity faults/outages: 1852
Gas emergency: 1804
From abroad: +370 611 21852
Registered office (mailing): Žvejų g. 14, LT-09310 Vilnius, Lithuania
Note: For project-specific and technical contacts (connections, metering, distributed generation), ESO directs customers through self-service forms and the 1852 hotline.

Sources and References

- ESO official website: https://www.eso.lt (Company overview, services, contacts, self-service)
- AB Ignitis grupė consolidated annual reports (Networks segment/ESO financials and governance): https://ignitisgrupe.lt
- Valstybinė energetikos reguliavimo taryba (VERT) regulatory decisions and tariff methodology: https://www.vert.lt
- Lithuanian business registry aggregators (legal particulars such as company code/VAT and address; cross-check recommended): e.g., https://rekvizitai.vz.lt

Disclaimer: Some items (exact current board composition, exhaustive list of operational depot addresses with local phone numbers, and ESO-only detailed annual figures) change over time and/or are consolidated at Group level. Verify the latest information directly on ESO and Ignitis Group official pages and the Lithuanian register.