Elering Predicts 60% Electricity Price Rise by 2016
The latest predictions by state-owned grid operator Elering foresee a 60 percent rise over the next five years in the price of electricity going to homes and small businesses.
The company's estimates put the price at 48.5 euros per megawatt hour on the open market, compared to 29.5 euros on today's closed market, Postimees reported.
The Estonian electricity market is due to be fully deregulated by 2013, a change that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications projected would result in a 20 percent rise in electricity prices across all sectors.
Elering's 60 percent figure won't necessarily translate into a corresponding jump in homeowners' bills, since the electricity itself makes up only part of the final cost.
The newspaper's own calculations, factoring in the proposed doubling of renewable energy fees and increased network tariffs, estimate that small consumers will be hit with a 40 percent increase by 2016. The publication was careful to point out, however, that a number of variables make market rates for electricity difficult to predict.
Steve Roman