The Competition Authority's supervisory proceedings regarding the operation of the Kiisa emergency power plant, owned by Elering, are still ongoing, said Marilin Tilkson, head of the Competition Authority's energy markets department. The authority hopes to complete the investigation by the end of this year.

The Competition Authority announced the initiation of the supervisory proceedings last November.

According to Tilkson, the goal of the investigation is to determine whether transmission system operator Elering AS' electricity production at the Kiisa emergency power plant for the Finnish capacity market has been conducted in accordance with Estonia's Electricity Market Act.

"The law permits Elering to produce electricity at the Kiisa emergency reserve power plant only in cases of sudden outages in generation or transmission capacity of the system or that of another country connected to the system, or when the security of supply is at risk. Additionally, it may be produced when necessary for the periodic testing of the Kiisa emergency reserve power plant. The proceedings will verify whether these rules have been followed," Tilkson added.

Elering: Kiisa last operational for Fingrid in 2022

Elering's spokesperson, Liis Eiser, explained that Elering and Finland's transmission system operator, Fingrid, have a joint technical cooperation agreement, under which they collaborate in the management of the electrical system.

"As part of the agreement, the possibility of sharing frequency reserves is foreseen, including from the Kiisa emergency reserve power plant. In accordance with the cooperation agreement, Fingrid takes into account the option of requesting frequency reserve activation from Elering when needed," Eiser added.

According to Elering, they always ensure that any activation requested by Fingrid complies with the Electricity Market Act, specifically when it involves the unexpected outage of generation or transmission capacity in the electrical system.

"Activations of reserves by Fingrid are rare – Kiisa was last activated for Fingrid on December 22, 2022 – and have never been related to anything other than a serious system failure," Eiser confirmed.

Elering also reiterated that, even during hours of very high electricity prices in Estonia, they are legally prohibited from participating in the regular electricity market with the Kiisa plants.

"We only activate the Kiisa plants in case of emergencies. Additionally, these capacities participate in the reserve market," said Eiser.

The Competition Authority conducts national supervision in areas such as competition, electricity, natural gas, district heating, postal services, public water supply and sewerage, as well as railways, aviation and ports.

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