The agency found there are no specific physical security requirements for objects not designated as national defense objects.

For years, electricity companies have had to decide for themselves, which physical protection measures are appropriate, and this is also the case now.

Elementary measures have been taken, but some of them have been weaker compared to the requirements set for national defense objects. However, these objects are also important to ensure Estonia's electricity supply.

The NAO audited whether measures have been taken to ensure the security of important objects supplying electricity to Estonia and then made proposals to the climate and interior ministries.

Taking the findings into account, it it proposed a comprehensive assessment of the need to designate objects that supply electricity as national defense objects. 

It said the ministries should work together designate objects that supply electricity as national defense objects. The government will then have the final say.

The current list has not been updated since 2017, the agency found. Responsibility lies with the Ministry of Climate (until mid-2023, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications was responsible for the area of electricity supply) and the Ministry of the Interior. 

The interior ministry could not explain why other objects assessed at the time were not added to the list. The officials who dealt with the matter at the time no longer work at the ministry and there are no documents related to the decision-making process at the time.

However, the NAO said it is not essential to designate these objects as national defense objects to ensure that the companies providing electricity supply in Estonia themselves apply principles similar to those applied to national defense objects.

But agency did recommend that the Ministry of Climate should collect and share with electricity companies substantive information on the threats of physical attacks as well as measures to counter possible attacks. This way, companies could use this information to select and implement appropriate measures to protect a particular object.

The Minister of Climate and the Minister of the Interior responded that a review and update of the list of national defense objects is planned for 2025. They also pointed out that electricity companies can apply principles like those applied to national defense objects also to critical objects that have not been designated as national defense objects.

The NAO stresses that since the minimum measures of physical protection and additional security measures for national defense objects are not publicly known, the minister of interior and the minister of climate should first find ways to introduce these measures to electricity companies and, if necessary, advise them on their implementation.

In the course of the audit, the NAO assessed how the transmission system operator AS Elering, the distribution system operator Elektrilevi OÜ and the electricity producer AS Enefit Power have prepared for physical attacks against important objects supplying electricity.

The audit sample of the National Audit Office included five objects (in reality, there are more such objects) one of which, the object of AS Elering, has been designated as a national defense object related to the provision of a vital service and four have been designated by the electricity undertakings themselves as objects necessary for critical activities in their business continuity risk analyses.

Background

An interruption in electricity supply has a very significant impact on the functioning of the state, other vital services and the population. It is therefore important that the physical security of significant objects that supply electricity is guaranteed. The audit addressed external physical attacks, such as vandalism, theft, the transformation of a demonstration into a mass disorganized attack, lone wolf attack, planned attack (sudden attack, explosive device detonation, etc.), dangerous package (letter, parcel, etc.), attack through ventilation, attack by special forces or persons with military training.

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