Auvere thermal power plant to undergo six weeks of repairs

Enefit Power's Auvere Power Plant.
Enefit Power's Auvere Power Plant. Source: Ken Mürk/ERR

Eesti Energia's newest thermal power plant in Auvere will undergo repairs for a month-and-a-half starting next week. The electricity producer believes it will not have a significant impact on prices.

The plant in Ida-Viru County has been in commercial use for four years but has been plagued by problems. It is also undergoing constant modernization, converting it from burning shale oil to wood waste and natural gas.

Unreliable equipment will be replaced this autumn when new heat exchangers arrive from China, bringing operations to a temporary standstill.

Auvere creates 20 percent of Estonia's electricity.

Andres Vainola, head of Enefit Power, said the construction work has been planned for a long time and the market has been able to take this into account since the start of 2022.

"So it is very likely that market participants, others who planned their repairs and maintenance, have also taken this into account. I do not think that there will be a very big impact on the stock market price during the repairs," he said.

If prices do rise, it will not be because of Auvere, Vainola added. He said today's high prices were set by gas-fired power plants in Latvia and Lithuania.

Energy expert Marko Allickson said: "Narva stations are not the main price setters, and that means that the price is determined by others. The only thing is whether we have enough production capacity in Estonia or not, and if Auvere is not working, there may be more moments when we do not have enough production capacity."

Electricity prices in Estonia are most affected by the weather and shortage of production capacities.

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Editor: Marko Tooming, Helen Wright

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