Speaking to "Vikerhommik," Eamets said: "This looks like we are creating an additional bureaucratic process, whereby a company would have to hire two more people just to reduce costs."

Eamets noted that even following the damage to the Estlink 2 cable, the situation is not comparable to the shock seen a few years ago, when electricity prices spiked sharply, and compensation measures were put in place, first at local government level and then by the state.

"As of today people and companies have adjusted their behavior significantly, so there is no similar need for compensation," Eamets said on this.

Eamets also noted that despite that, some form of price cap for industrial companies with high electricity consumption could be taken into consideration.

At the same time, steps proposed to bring a backup power station online and to, longer term, build a natural gas-fired power station could have been taken earlier, Eamets added.

"Guaranteeing energy security by injecting €100 million into Eesti Energia's share capital to build a gas power plant and bringing the Kiisa backup plant to the market are very necessary and sensible steps, which could have been taken much earlier," he continued, noting that renewables are not a failsafe fallback.

The crisis brought a clearer understanding that the wind doesn't blow all the time, he noted, adding that in any case Estonia is a little behind the curve on renewables.

"We may be late to the party with wind farms and offshore parks, as our neighbors are ahead with their developments, and we don't have the corresponding demand to match," Eamets went on.

Another recently touted concept, building a joint Baltic states nuclear power plant, should be seriously considered, given Lithuania has proposed building a power station of some kind, to serve that country along with Latvia and Estonia.

Eamets also did not rule out the possibility of stepping away from the current Nordpool electricity exchange or abandoning its model altogether.

"Any decision can be reversed. The current exchange model would work if there was an oversupply of electricity," he added.

"The system today is back-to-front: The winner is those who come to the market last, with the highest price, while that price applies to everyone. So the electricity exchange brings no advantage to the Estonian consumer."

On Thursday, the government proposed three measures to mitigate rising electricity prices in response to the damage to the Estlink 2 submarine cable.

This included a decision in principle to allocate €100 million to state-owned electricity generator Eesti Energia, to expedite the construction of the power station in Narva.

The government is also considering differentiating renewable energy fees for companies, which could mean that industries capable of using energy above a certain efficiency level would be largely exempt from renewable energy fees.

The third pillar of the government's proposal is bringing Elering's Kiisa power station, kept in reserve and for emergencies, to the market, but the government will revisit this decision in March, after the desynchronization from the Russian electricity grid has taken place.

When Estonia joined the Nordpool exchange over a decade ago, it was sold as heralding more competitive electricity prices.

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