"We have informed our customers about the opportunity to renew their plans, but many have not been inclined to make the change," Agnes Roos, member of the management board at Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia, said in a press release. "Based on customer feedback, we're happy we can now make the change automatically and earlier than expected."

According to Roos, the new plan with hourly pricing will allow customers to save by monitoring consumption more than before and timing the use of electrical equipment or heating, for example, to hours when electricity prices are lower.

When Estonia's electricity market opened in 2013, remote readable electricity meters had not yet been installed throughout the country, due to which exchange-based plans could only be based on average daytime and average nighttime exchange prices. The installation of remote readable meters was completed in 2017, and since then, customers have not been able to choose older electricity plans.

Nonetheless, plans based on average exchange prices were grandfathered in. Now, all 50,000 customers still on the old plan will be notified directly of the change to hourly pricing, which will be automatic.

According to Eesti Energia, trends on the electricity market indicate that Estonia shouldn't expect a drop in exchange prices in the coming months. High power exchanges are caused by the lack of affordable renewable energy, due to which consumption has to be covered by electricity produced from more expensive sources.

"Considering what is happening on the electricity market, we understand those customers who do not want to monitor power exchange prices and schedule their consumption," Roos said. "In this case, we recommend fixed-price plans, which provide great peace of mind that the agreed-upon price won't change during the contract period."

Estonia's hourly day-ahead electricity prices can be monitored on the Nord Pool site here. All times on the Nord Pool site are noted in Central European Summer Time (CEST), one hour behind Estonian time.

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