The Estonian Competition Authority has approved the tariff adjustment proposed by Elering

On Friday 21 September the Estonian Competition Authority approved the annual tariff adjustment proposed by Elering. According to the changes, from 1 January of next year Elering electricity network charges will increase by 0.15 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The growth of regulated assets due to large-scale investments has the most significant influence on the tariff adjustment. Network service expenses also increase due to changes in the regulation of network losses, and decrease due to other changes in Elering’s income and expenses. Changes in the regulation of network losses and income and expenses balance each other, and thus investment activity remains the major factor to influence the tariffs. 

Elering estimates that the tariff adjustment will bring an increase of approximately 40 cents per month to the electricity costs of the average household (based on the yearly consumption of 2500 kilowatt-hours of electricity, and an average of 7% in losses in the transmission system). 

The largest investment projects for Elering are EstLink 2, the emergency power plant and the 330-kilowatt Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi power line. During this year and next year the company’s total investments will reach approximately 270 million euros. 

Under the methodology for calculating the electricity network charges approved by the Competition Authority, transmission system operators have to submit an adjustment application for network charges once per year for the respective three-year tariff period. The adjustment is to reflect any investments made, any changes in the volume of transferred power, network losses, as well as other income and expenses associated with management of the transmission grid. 

Elering is the Estonian Transmission System Operator, whose main duty is to ensure high-quality supplies of electricity to consumers at all times. To achieve security of supply, Elering maintains and develops the national transmission grid and international connections. Elering controls the Estonian electricity system in real time, ensuring the operation of the transmission network, and a balance between production and consumption. 

More information on Elering tariff adjustment is available here (in Estonian).