Electricity market and electricity system
There are two types of electricity providers on the Estonian electricity market - electricity sellers and network operators who deliver the electricity via the transmission network. The exchange of electricity consumption data between network operators and electricity sellers takes place through a central information exchange platform managed by Elering.
Electricity market
There is only one network operator delivering electricity and maintaining the transmission network in each service area, as it is more beneficial for the society in long term. Elektrilevi's transmission network covers 93% of Estonia. Our network area does not include Lääne county, Viimsi or Narva and its surrounding areas, where electricity is supplied by other network operators.
Electricity sellers in Elektrilevi's network
Here is a list of electricity sellers with customers in the Elektrilevi service area.
Additional information on the operation of the electricity market
Standard consumption schedules
Open supply
Joint bills
Electricity system
The Estonian electricity system connects power plants, network operators and electricity consumers and covers the processes and management of the production, transmission, distribution and storage of electricity.
How is the electricity transferred from the producer to the customer?
The transmission system operator Elering AS is responsible for ensuring that the Estonian electricity system operates as a whole. Elering is also a transmission system operator that runs transmission services in the high-voltage network at 110-330 kV.
The distribution network at 0.4-35 kV starts after the high-voltage network and the network operator distributes electricity to the consumer's connection point through the distribution network.
Just like other network operators, Elektrilevi is responsible for distributing electricity from the transmission system to places of consumption.
How is the electricity transferred from the producer to the customer?
There are over 30 distribution network operators in Estonia, and Elektrilevi is the largest. Elektrilevi shares some area substations and 110 kV equipment with the transmission system operator.
The modern electricity system does not consist of only one larger producer, and the number of distributed electricity producers joining the system is increasing steadily. This turns electricity transmission into a two-way process, and creates new challenges for the electricity network.
Electricity market
The electricity sales market is an open market and a customer can choose an electricity seller of their liking. If the customer has not signed a network contract for some reason, then they will use the universal service to buy electricity.
One of the tasks of a network operator is to measure the electricity consumed. The consumption is measured by the hour with hour-based remotely read meters and the data is sent to Elering's data warehouse every month. After network operators have sent the data to Elering's data warehouse, electricity sellers can use these data for issuing electricity bills.
Now all electricity sellers can also send their customers joint bills for electricity and network services. If the electricity seller has not joined the joint billing system, the customer will receive separate network and electricity bills from different providers.
If you have any questions for Elektrilevi about the information exchange, then please email [email protected].
Electricity sellers
| Electricity sellers | Website | Joint bills |
|---|---|---|
| 220 Energia OÜ | www.220energia.ee | |
| Alexela Energia Teenused AS | www.alexela.ee | Joint billing of residential customers from June 2017. |
| AS Eesti Gaas | www.gaas.ee | Joint billing of residential customers from February 2017. |
| AS Esro | www.esro.ee | |
| EESTI ENERGIA AS | www.energia.ee | Joint billing of residential and business customers. |
| Elektrum Eesti OÜ | www.elektrum.ee | Joint billing of residential customers from February 2017. |
| ELVESO AS | www.elveso.ee | |
| Ignitis Eesti OÜ | www.ignitis.ee/ | |
| NORDIC POWER MANAGEMENT OÜ | www.nordicpm.eu | |
| Scener OÜ | www.scener.eu | |
| Silpower AS | www.silpower.ee | |
| VKG Elektrivõrgud OÜ | www.vkg.ee/ev | Joint billing of residential and business customers from March 2017. |
| ALEXELA | www.alexela.ee | |
| INTER RAO Eesti OÜ | www.interrao.ee | |
| VKG Energia OÜ | ||
| AS Tallinna Sadam | ||
| Imlitex Eesti OÜ | www.imlitexenergy.ee | |
| Olerex AS | www.olerex.ee | |
| Axpo Nordic AS | www.axpo.com | |
| Electric Terminal OÜ |
Additional information on the operation of the electricity market
Standard consumption schedules
Electricity trading in the electricity market is hour-based, which is why electricity consumption is also measured by the hour. If you do not have an hour-based remotely read meter installed in your place of consumption, then your hourly consumption of electricity is calculated from a standard consumption schedule.
What is a standard consumption schedule?
The standard consumption schedule is a mathematical curve and it is used to divide the electricity that the customer consumes in a month between the different hours of the day. Every network operator prepares their own standard consumption schedules for their service area and these are then approved by the Competition Authority.
Elektrilevi's most common standard consumption schedule applies to all residential and small business customers or places of consumption with a main fuse rating of up to 63 A.
Elektrilevi's standard consumption schedule is designed using the earlier average consumption of residential and small business customers. The average total consumption in every hour within a year in the Elektrilevi network is calculated, and a specific coefficient is assigned to each hour for calculating the consumption for that hour.
How is consumption calculated for every hour using the standard consumption schedule?
Hourly electricity consumption is calculated from the meter reading. If no reading is submitted then you can notify us of the reading or yourself or we will estimate the amount.
If you have a two-tariff network package, then the day and night consumption is calculated with a standard consumption schedule.
How consumption is divided between the daytime and night hours.
If you consumed 250 kWh in April, then the first hour (00:00-01:00) of April 1st is calculated from the
standard consumption schedule as 250*0.001209269=0.302 kWh. The electricity consumption for the other hours
is calculated from the coefficients of those hours. In this example the consumption on 1 April would have
been 8.2 kWh.
How consumption for April 1st is calculated
If you have a two-tariff meter installed, then the electricity consumed during the day time (work days from 7am to 11pm) is divided between the daytime hours of that month and electricity consumed during the night hours (from 11pm to 7am and on weekends) is divided between the night hours of that month.
How is the hourly electricity price set?
Network operators send information about how much electricity each customer consumes by the hour to Elering's central data warehouse. The electricity seller chosen by the customer calculates the electricity, so your electricity seller can give you more information on how prices are set.
Electricity sellers usually calculate the hourly prices using the weighted average exchange price for customers who have not chosen a fixed-price package. The weighted average exchange price reflects how much electricity costs on the Nord Pool Spot power exchange at certain times and how much electricity the customer has actually consumed during those hours or how the electricity has been divided in the standard consumption schedule.
Open supply
Small-scale consumers (a residential or small business customer with a consumption place with a main fuse rating of up to 63 A) who have not signed an electricity contract with any of the electricity sellers will be provided a universal service. If a large-scale business customer has not signed an electricity contract (or open supply contract), we will supply them electricity according to the standard conditions of the interruption to open supply contract.
Universal service
The universal service will be provided to small-scale consumers (a residential or small business customer with a consumption place with a main fuse rating of up to 63 A) who have not signed an electricity contract with any of the electricity sellers. The seller appointed by the network operator will provide the universal service. Eesti Energia AS is the appointed electricity seller in the service area of the network operator Elektrilevi. Eesti Energia AS provides the universal service and sells electricity during any interruption to an open supply contract.
Open supply
If a business customer does not sign a supply (or electricity) contract, the network operator will provide to them the universal service according to the standard conditions of the interruption to open supply contract
Eesti Energia AS is the appointed electricity seller in the service area of the network operator Elektrilevi. Electricity will be sold according to the standard conditions of the interruption to open supply contract to business customers with a main fuse rating above 63A, who consume electricity but who do not have a valid contract. Those standard conditions do not apply to small-scale consumers such as apartment owners' associations, apartment owners' unions, residential customers or business customers whose electrical installation is connected to the low voltage network with a main fuse of up to 63A.
Sales of electricity in isolated networks
Isolated networks are not connected to electricity systems. In Elektrilevi's service area there are two isolated networks – the islands of Prangli and Ruhnu.
Read more about producing, purchasing and selling electricity in isolated networks:
Joint bills
All electricity sellers can send their customers joint bills for electricity and network services. he electricity seller decides whether to send joint bills and whether to send joint bills to all its customers or only residential or only business customers. If an electricity seller chooses to send joint bills, its customers will no longer receive a separate network services bill from the network operator. See which electricity sellers use joint billing.
