Energy trading analyst at Eesti Energia Karl Joosep Randveer said that according to the latest forecasts, thanks to the effect of falling peak prices, average electricity prices in July and August, once EstLink 2 is back online, may be up to half the price it would be when the cable was not operational.

Evening hours have risen to as much as several hundred euros per megawatt-hour while EstLink 2 has been down.

Randveer said: "In other words, as a result of the restoration of the EstLink 2 connection, evening peak prices €200–€300 will for the most part fall. During the summer evenings, once solar generation disappears with sundown, it is viable to import cheaper nuclear, wind, and hydro energy generated in Finland via EstLink 2, which would mainly replace Estonia's costlier oil shale plants or Latvia's gas plants."

This does not mean that daytime and evening prices will equalize, however, he added.

"Rather, the repair of EstLink 2 does not spell the end of market volatility. In a situation where cheap solar power disappears in the evening, the weather stays windless, and there is no opportunity to import cheaper electricity from neighboring states, we may see days where the electricity price fluctuates by hundreds of euros per megawatt-hour," Randveer went on.

Electricity exchange prices for Estonia in the evening, daytime, and often in the morning have been fluctuating greatly this week also.

Today, Wednesday, the per-megawatt-hour electricity price ran between zero and €3 as quoted on the exchange from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., after which time the price soared first to €65 then to €100 or more in the ensuing hours. Similar high prices were seen early in the morning, before 9 a.m.

Electricity prices last month fell by approximately 8 percent compared with the previous month, i.e. April, to a level of €67.6 per megawatt-hour on average. This was aided by the fall in natural gas prices seen in April, high renewable energy production in Lithuania and Estonia, and continued hydro energy production in Latvia, Randveer said.

Elering recently announced that the restoration work to the EstLink 2 electricity connection is to be completed ahead of schedule, and should be operational from June 25.

EstLink 2 was damaged by the trailing anchor of a suspected Russian "shadow fleet" oil tanker, the Eagle S., last Christmas. Estonia and Finland are also connected via the EstLink 1 cable, and plans are going ahead for an EstLink 3 connection.

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