BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 29. The European Commission has approved a state aid measure for a strategic reserve mechanism designed to secure Estonia’s electricity supply over the next ten years, Trend reports.
According to Estonia’s transmission system operator Elering, the strategic reserve has been identified as the most suitable capacity mechanism for the country, Trend reports.
Beginning in 2027, it will safeguard the stability of Estonia’s power system in situations where market-based measures alone are insufficient to guarantee adequate controllable generation capacity.
This means that certain power plants or storage facilities will remain outside the electricity market but must be ready to operate in emergency situations.
“Our goal is to ensure that Estonia’s energy supply remains reliable — both next winter and ten years from now. The strategic reserve is essentially an insurance policy that guarantees the lights stay on and industries keep running even in the most challenging moments,” said Minister of Energy and Environment Andres Sutt.
“Elering’s primary role is to maintain supply security. The state aid approval for the strategic reserve gives us a contingency plan of last resort — ensuring that we can fulfill this responsibility even under critical circumstances when market-based solutions are exhausted,” Elering’s CEO Kalle Kilk added.
A 2023 Elering study concluded that the strategic reserve is the most appropriate capacity mechanism for Estonia, given that simultaneous failures of multiple cross-border connections could pose a significant system risk. Similar strategic reserve models are already in operation in Finland and Sweden.
Under the approved framework, the reserve capacity must be able to provide service for at least four consecutive hours or a total of 200 hours per year. After activation, the reserve must be capable of delivering another four-hour service within 16 hours.