Elering, Estonia’s transmission system operator, is preparing the country’s grid for 1,500 MW of new generation while strengthening connections in Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu. The plan also targets rising electricity demand in larger urban centres and improved crisis readiness.
The updated transmission-grid development plan, reported by ERR, sets out three priorities: connecting new generation, reinforcing connections in major consumption centres and improving the network’s ability to withstand and recover from crises.
Elering shifts investment toward stronger, more flexible connections
Reigo Kebja, Elering board member, said the work will mainly involve rebuilding older parts of the network rather than constructing entirely new lines. Much of the existing infrastructure dates from the middle of the 20th century and needs to be reconstructed to meet current requirements and carry substantially more power.
“Crisis readiness means both physical protection, prevention and accelerating recovery, in other words, increasing the volume of different reserves,” Kebja said.
The plan also includes a review with Elektrilevi of where higher-voltage transmission infrastructure should be built as demand grows, and where Elektrilevi can provide the most efficient solution through its own distribution network. “In other words, is it worth running one thick wire or ten thinner distribution-network wires?” Kebja said.
This approach is expected to optimise costs and save more than €50M in investment. The network-tariff share of the programme is expected to reach €80M-€90M a year over the next five years. Roughly half of the overall investment is expected to come from electricity tariffs, with the remainder potentially covered by support and other aid.
New generation will be spread across Estonia
Kalle Kilk, Elering’s board chairman, said electricity consumption has historically increased by about 1% a year nationally, but the pattern differs sharply between rural areas and cities. Urban demand is being lifted by changes such as the electrification of district-heating networks and the expansion of electric-vehicle charging.
“The main reason we reviewed the grid development plan was that we need quite a lot of new power plants in Estonia and we need to keep pace with demand growth in Tallinn, Tartu and other major load centres,” Kilk said.
Much of Estonia’s existing generation capacity is located in Ida-Viru County and consists of ageing oil-shale power plants that are entering the market less frequently and gradually being retired. New plants are expected to be distributed across Estonia instead. Kilk said the country may not add substantially more capacity in megawatt terms than before, but the capacity will be located in different areas.
Elering estimates that, within ten years, Estonia should have slightly more than 2,000 MW of dispatchable power plants and more than 2,000 MW of weather-dependent but low-cost generation. “Four thousand to 4,500 MW could initially be a sufficient amount for Estonia. At present, we have slightly more than 3,000,” Kilk said.
The plan also assesses the grid’s ability to connect data centres. The strengthened core network can accommodate data centres of several hundred megawatts at some nodes, but Kilk said Estonia’s small electricity system is not ready for 1,000 MW data centres.
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