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Elektri Elektrilevi acquired Imatra Elekter with the permission of the Competition Authority

23.07.2021

Elektrilevi, the largest distribution network company in Estonia, acquired the network services business of Imatra Elekter, which provides energy services to more than 25,000 customers in Western Estonia and Viimsi. The purchase transaction agreed in March this year between the Finnish energy group Imatran Seudun Sähkö and Elektrilevi required the approval of the Competition Authority for entry into force. Today, the merging has been approved by the Competition Authority and the transaction will be completed. The price of the transaction is 28.9 million euros.

By merging the companies, Elektrilevi is taking a step forward to offer an online service with an even better price-quality ratio in Estonia. "Thanks to the synergy arising from the co-management of networks and the efficient use of resources, we can offer price gains for all customers in the long run and at the same time improve reliability," notes Mihkel Härm, Chairman of the Management Board of Elektrilevi.

Rudolf Penu, the former head of the regulatory and legal field of Elektrilevi, was appointed as the new Chairman of the Management Board of Imatra Elekter. "I clearly understand that this is a role of high responsibility," says the fresh head of Imatra Elekter. "First of all, we need to get a complete overview of the situation and continue to make daily contributions for the well-being of our customers. We want to further increase Imatra Elekter's already good quality of network service and customer satisfaction as a whole. I thank all the members of the previous board for their great contribution to the development of Imatra Elekter.”

Prior to obtaining the merger clearance, Imatra Elekter had to complete the sale of its electricity sales business portfolio, as Elektrilevi as a network operator, does not engage in electricity sales itself. The process was completed in mid-June and the electricity sales business was acquired by Elektrum Eesti, a member of the Latvenergo Group, with the permission of the Competition Authority.

Diagram: Elektrilevi network service area expanded to Lääne County and Viimsi

Imatra Elekter will initially operate as a subsidiary of Elektrilevi.

"Merging the two companies and fully integrating the systems will take almost two years with the best of our knowledge, i.e. everything will continue the same way for Imatra Elekter's network service customers," promises Mihkel Härm. "Should changes in network service operations occur in the future, both Elektrilevi and Imatra Elekter will notify their customers in advance."

As the largest distribution network company in Estonia, Elektrilevi has consistently increased the reliability of the network and at the same time kept the price level as low as possible. Network service has become cheaper by a fifth in recent years, despite the general increase in the cost of living - in 2017-2019, the network fee fell by a total of 17 percent. Over the last 15 years, the online service has put less and less burden on people's wallets. According to the consumer price index, prices have increased by 54% during this period, but the price of network services has only increased by 9%.

Upon the merging of the two companies, Elektrilevi's share of the Estonian distribution network will increase to 95 percent. Elektrilevi now manages 63,000 kilometres of power lines and 25,300 substations. The network company has more than 533,000 customers.