Security reasons prompt Elering to rebuild headquarters

Elering is planning to rebuild its Tallinn office building in order to ensure security of supply in a challenging security environment. The building work is scheduled to be completed in three years.

Elering considers the reconstruction of its headquarters necessary in order to enhance the crisis preparedness of the national defence facility, which provides a vital service. “Our current office was built at a time when the security situation was entirely different, and it no longer meets the standards needed to guarantee energy security,” explained Kalle Kilk, the chairman of the management board of Elering. “We have to keep the energy system running even at difficult times, and to do that, we have to ensure the stable operation of both our infrastructure and our control centre.”

The new expectations of the owner place demands on Elering in terms of its level of security so as to guarantee system management capability and the continuity of the vital service it provides, including in crisis situations. The building is also subject to the requirements of category B national defence sites.

Moreover, the reconstruction of the building will alleviate the space constraints caused by changes in the energy sector in recent years and the tasks the system operator has had to take on as a result. Alongside the large-scale project to link Estonia to the Continental Europe Synchronous Area and additional infrastructure projects, the system operator’s responsibilities now include tasks related to the country’s renewable energy targets, the planning of new international connections and the Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor project. The Continental Europe Synchronous Area project alone has led to Elering taking on 40 new recruits since 2018, and its office building already employs almost 50% more staff members than was foreseen when it was planned in 2015.

The reconstruction costs will depend on the state of the construction market and the results of tenders, which are expected to be known by the end of 2025. Elering hopes to attract external financing for the project.

The project plans will be on public display at the Mustamäe District Government building from 7-21 October, after which the design brief will be issued and a tender organised to find a designer. Elering hopes that a construction tender will be launched by the end of 2025.