Grid distributor Elektrilevi, the monopoly company levying the rise for the most part, said that in comparison with the current agreement, the price of electricity has risen by 27 percent.

"Elektrilevi is one of the largest electricity consumers in Estonia," the company said, referring to its obtaining electricity from generators such as Eesti Energia and conveying it to end users.

"We consume approximately 300 GWh of electricity per year, all of it is necessary to keep the electricity grid running.

From July 14, the price of ampere-based connections is also set to rise to €198 per amp (compared with €156 per amp, a rate it has been set at for seven years).

The unstable security picture is behind much of that rise, Mihkel Härm, Elektrilevi board chair said.

We will do everything in our power to ensure that the variable ampere fee remains stable in the following years as well," he added.

The three-percent rise will impact on customers' monthly bills depending on which of the five packages Elektrilevi offers is in use.

Elektrilevi network service development manager Tõnu Roosve said the average home customer consumes 250KWh of electricity per month, which would equate to a €0.45 rise in monthly bills.

A customer with the Võrk2 package would pay €14.89 per month from October, compared with €14.45 at present.

Elektrilevi had to request permission for the price rise from the Competition Authority (Konkurentsiamet), which was duly approved.

Elektrilevi has over 533,000 customers in Estonia, making it by far the largest distribution firm and in effect a monopoly, since last year's €28.9-million takeover of Imatra Elekter, the Estonian subsidiary of a Finnish firm.

Elering, a grid distributor which does not connect directly to the home but whose actions still have an impact on end users, had its application to hike transmission fees approved last December.

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