According to Michal, Estonia has plans in place to meet its energy management needs. The prime minister said, there is no need to relax the requirements on oil shale to cover Estonia's energy needs. Rather, it is enough to clarify the permits. "Security of supply is guaranteed, initially with oil shale blocks, and in the future through tenders. We are expecting to add both gas and other types of power plants."

Asked why the government abandoned plans to build a new gas plant last year, the prime minister replied that building new plants comes is costly and can be done for revenue. The construction of reserve plants requires a mechanism to pay for it. "As a country, we have agreed, even I as climate minister said, that it has to be clear how it is financed," he said.

Michal added that no one will simply build new plants. "In the future, plants will come up against the capacity mechanism, which is logical. If you order a reserve from the market, you can pay for it in moderation."

According to Michal, industrial companies expect a more favorable electricity price, not necessarily the existence of managed capacity in reserve.

"This also requires a review of regulatory charges, and I know the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications is discussing this. But there is a clause here whereby for consumers it means a few cents more if industries pay a few cents less," he said.

Last week, Eesti Energia announced to the Nord Pool power exchange that it has withdrawn its older power generation units from the market due to emissions restrictions outlined in its environmental permit.

The prime minister said a lot would depend on what other capacity is available on the market.

Problems of state-owned companies don't get to general meeting in time

Michal stressed that Eesti Energia's problem is the misrepresentation of information in certain areas. "Now we need to find out why this is the case. But misrepresentation and solving problems are two different things," he said. "At the moment, the problem solving is already taking place in such a way that the reserve capacities are there, the plants can operate and the permits are being specified."

"Nobody is pushing Estonia into the dark. We will keep these plants in operation for security of supply, but they will all have to specify their permits and, if necessary, make investments, as well as potentially take steps to reduce their environmental impact," the prime minister said.

According to Anne Mere, head of Eesti Energia's supervisory board, the special audit of the company did not reveal anything new. The prime minister said it weas difficult for him to comment on the specifics of what people have said. However, during discussions it will be necessary to go into precisely who knew what.

"I don't have any reproaches against anybody. Rather, I would like to understand that things are getting better in Eesti Energia, that things are being put in order, and then there will be a discussion on how to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future," Michal said.

Given the problems at Eesti Energia and Nordica, various politicians have been talking about the need to reform the nomination committees.

Asked whether there ought to be a return to a situation where company boards are made up of politicians, Michal said the principles of committee revisions had already been included in the previous coalition agreement and that this was not a new idea.

"There is no system per se that cannot be improved. I don't think bringing back politicians is the goal though," Michal said. The prime minister added that he did not think politicians on boards were necessarily a problem either, but the aim was instead to get an answer regarding how what happens in state-owned companies could be better managed by boards and better reported to the general meeting.

Many problems, including internal audits, do not reach the general meeting, he said, if the information coming from the board and supervisory board makes it seem that everything is fine in the company.

Narva's politics stuck in the 1990s

Last week, a vote of no confidence against Narva mayor Jaan Toots (Center) failed. Michal pointed out that Katri Raik essentially had to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea in Narva. However, he said that but people had different expectations of her and expected her to reform the border town.

The prime minister compared the current politics in Narva with that of the rest of Estonia in the 1990s. "This is a phase in Estonian politics."

"I hope that after the next or the next-but-one local elections, the picture will improve there too," Michal said.

There have been few candidates from the Reform Party in Narva. "Russian-speaking voters don't come to us very often, maybe more will in the future. In general, the Reform Party has been a liberal, right-wing party with a national outlook."

Michal expressed hope that the Reform Party could run with its own list in Narva for the next local elections and admitted that the party has active members in Ida-Viru County. However, no one can expect Reform to solve all the problems in Narva, and if there is a choice between being represented by a few people or compromising its principles, the party will stick to its values.

Asked whether there are plans to conduct impact analyses regarding the constitutional amendment on voting rights, Michal said that the Riigikogu is working on it. "The main aim of this is to keep citizens of the aggressor country out of our affairs. I hope this will be achieved."

The prime minister said he also did not consider it dramatic if the constitution is amended through two parliamentary compositions.

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