Estonia’s July electricity price rose 20 percent year on year

Estonia’s average electricity exchange price fell from June but was about 20 percent higher than in July last year, mainly because of lower hydropower output across the region, ERR reported.

The average price in July was nearly 44 euros per megawatt-hour, or 4.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. Including value-added tax, the price was 5.45 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to data published by elektriborsihind.ee.

The monthly average was 31.8 percent lower than in June. The most expensive day was July 1, when the average price including VAT was 11.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. The cheapest was July 26, at 1.1 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Electricity was cheapest between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and most expensive between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Tiit Hõbejõgi, a member of Enefit’s management board, told ERR that the year-on-year increase was mainly caused by significantly lower hydropower production across the region.

“The dry and often hot period has left water levels in hydropower reservoirs low, affecting the output of hydropower plants. For example, hydropower production in the Baltics was twice as low in July as it was a year earlier,” Hõbejõgi said.

The dry period particularly affected hydropower production in the Nordic countries. This reduced the Baltic states’ ability to import cheaper electricity when local renewable generation was insufficient and led to the use of more expensive fossil-fuel plants, Hõbejõgi added.

Electricity imports accounted for nearly 30 percent of consumption in the Baltic states in July last year, compared with 18 percent this year.

Finland’s average July exchange price was 15.4 euros per megawatt-hour excluding VAT, nearly three times lower than Estonia’s. In Latvia and Lithuania, the average was 75 euros per megawatt-hour, about three-quarters higher than in Estonia.

Second-quarter price slightly lower than last year

In the second quarter, from April to June, Estonia’s electricity price was 2 percent lower than a year earlier. The June price was nevertheless more than 50 percent higher than in June last year.

An analysis by Elering, the electricity network operator, showed that renewable electricity produced in Estonia covered more than half of domestic consumption in the second quarter. Estonia nevertheless remained dependent on imports, as domestic generation could not cover total consumption.

Estonia produced 1.2 terawatt-hours of electricity from April to June and consumed 1.8 terawatt-hours. Net imports totalled 629 gigawatt-hours, or 34.1 percent of consumption, compared with 41 percent in the first quarter.

Renewables accounted for 85 percent of electricity produced in Estonia during the second quarter.

Renewable generation has also increased significantly in Latvia and Lithuania. This meant that, although Estonia had greater available generation capacity, market conditions made it more economical to import one-third of its electricity, said Erkki Sapp, a member of Elering’s management board.

Electricity links with Finland and Latvia were also operating at a higher capacity than a year earlier, while consumption fell by 2 percent.

Estonia’s renewable electricity output did not increase year on year. It stood at 1,048 gigawatt-hours in the second quarter of 2025 and 1,034 gigawatt-hours this year.

Solar plants accounted for the largest share of renewable generation, at 52 percent, with their grid-fed output rising by 14 percent from the second quarter of last year. Wind power output fell by 15 percent.