Estlink 2 Would Have Cut June Spike by a Third, Says Head of Elering
Taavi Veskimägi, CEO of Elering, the nation's electricity transmission system operator, said that the high prices seen in June could have been alleviated by Estlink 2, which is currently in construction.
Nord Pool Spot, the Nordic and Baltic region electricity exchange, reported 9 percent lower prices in June compared to the previous month, but Estonia bucked the trend, paying 44 percent more for its electricity.
Veskimägi said in his blog today that the Estlink 2 underwater power cable to Finland would have cut prices by 30 percent.
Veskimägi said that during 74 percent of June, the current connection was at full capacity, and without Estlink 1, prices would have been a further 10 percent higher.
The new link, set to enter operation next year, will be nearly twice as powerful as the 350 MW Estlink 1 cable.
Electricity prices passed the 100-euro-per-megawatt mark at the end of June, twice that of Finland and three times what Norwegians paid.
Uncoordinated repair work at energy production facilities, strong internal demand in Latvia and Lithuania and the lack of high-capacity cables linking the Baltics to other markets were blamed.