Inquiry regarding the stability and price of electricity production (no. 670)
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
Date: 2025-01-13 18:46
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 32
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 41m
AI Summaries: 32/32 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The focus of the third agenda item was the inquiry presented to the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) on December 2nd of last year regarding the stability and price of electricity production. The members of the inquiry were Lauri Laats, Vadim Belobrovtsev, Vladimir Arhipov, Andrei Korobeinik, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, and Aleksandr Tšaplõgin. Lauri Laats, representing the members of the inquiry, spoke from the Riigikogu rostrum. The justification was a special audit of Eesti Energia, and the observation that the lack of raw materials and investments, as well as green policies, are reflected in the electricity market and price dynamics.
The second major section addressed the government and energy sector's responses regarding: the desynchronization of the Baltic states’ networks, ensuring production capacity, and mitigating risks, including a 1000 megawatt controllable volume, island mode, and strategic reserve. In addition, discussions were held concerning gas stations and the potential future adoption of nuclear energy, as well as the role of a renewable energy-based price structure. The discussion raised a critical question for green policy and the need to avoid a two-sided approach, emphasizing the need for balanced solutions for the economy's competitiveness and the interests of consumers.
Decisions Made 1
The government confirmed the following key measures to enhance energy security and supply reliability: ensuring operational capacity of 950–1000 megawatts so that the electricity system can operate independently in crisis situations; a strategic reserve sized according to market gaps; procurement of 500 megawatts of frequency reserve through Elering; a visible plan for the development of further capacities and the continuation of research and calculations by 2029; preparations for the desynchronization of the Baltic electricity grid and security measures for critical energy infrastructure both on land and at sea; increasing the share of renewable energy-based supply by 2030 and constructing the fourth Estonia-Latvia connection between 2033 and 2035; strengthening the transparency of green policy and the investment environment between 2035 and 2040, including a balanced discussion on the continued use of gas stations, potential nuclear energy, and the development of new mechanisms; a goal to achieve, by 2030, that the amount of renewable energy produced equals domestic consumption, and electricity prices are regionally competitive.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker in this session was Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (pid 5VNfkRwGZMI). She represents the government's top leaders, and her participation and speech consistently reflect the search for a balanced approach to managed energetics and energy policy. Logically, her position falls outside the traditional left-right political spectrum, so she can be described as a "pragmatically centrist" or, alternatively, a "different" (other) position as a state policy representative who leads and explains the government's positions and decisions in the context of energy security, price levels, and investment decisions.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair moves on to the third item on the agenda, where the written inquiry submitted on 2 December last year regarding the stability and price of electricity production was taken up for discussion, and the representative of the inquirers, Lauri Laats, is already in the chair.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The main thread of the presentation is the inadequacy of energy policy and the impact of regulation on electricity prices and competitiveness, highlighting the revelations from Eesti Energia's private audits, the scant investment in oil shale plants, and the two-faced nature of the green policy — gas-fired plants will enter the market in 2028, by 2040 the burning of fossil gas must end, and when the moment arrives, the sale of these gas-fired plants to Africa will be considered, which shows two different levels in the regulatory framework.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker Lauri Hussar asked for the Riigikogu's speaking podium so that Prime Minister Kristen Michal would answer the parliamentary inquiry.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
To ensure electricity supply in Estonia and the Baltic states after separation from and desynchronization from the Russia–Belarus unified system by February 2025, the government plans, using islanding capability and a strategic reserve, approximately 1000 MW of dispatchable capacity (in addition to 500 MW of frequency reserve by 2029), and a new capacity planned for 2035–2040 in the form of a gas-fired power plant or a nuclear power plant, while increasing renewable generation to 100% of consumption by 2030 and developing the construction of the fourth interconnection with Finland and the Estonia–Latvia region, so that prices would be regionally more competitive.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar thanks the prime minister, notes that he also has questions, and asks Urmas Reinsalu to present them.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu criticizes ideological energy policy that seeks to increase the share of renewable energy and, at the same time, to create a parallel dispatchable electricity production system, to which payments will be made de facto through subsidies, and asks whether there is a mechanical correlation in developed countries between the share of renewable energy and the price of electricity, and how strong it is.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
The prime minister said that renewable energy lowers the economy's price of electricity per unit and is cheaper for exports, while Isamaa's plan to build new oil shale-fired plants is too expensive and harmful to the environment.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, asks Rain Epler to come forward.
Rain Epler
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Rain Epler criticizes the desynchronization project, emphasizes that the claim that no repair work will take place is brazen, and warns that in the absence of critical components the lights may start flashing, therefore he calls on the Estonian people to prepare for February 8.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that, in addition to planned repairs and maintenance, there may be a need for desynchronization to ensure the security of the energy system, something consumers may not notice, and that Estonia and the Baltic states have reserves and readiness, and if necessary an emergency desynchronization will be carried out in the absence of Russia's rational behavior, which we entrust to the Estonian energy sector.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, invited Anastasia Kovalenko-Kõlvarti onto the stage.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The main message of the speech is the clash between the state owners' expectations regarding Eesti Energia: the owner demands dividend income, supply security up to 1000 MW, environmental requirements and new investments, and no additional investments have been allocated. It is important to note that the owner's expectations do not include guaranteeing residents a reasonable electricity price.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanked the audience.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
There is an emphasis on reviewing the owner's expectations, and it is asked whether this has been done and why this objective has never been written into the owner's expectations.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal confirmed that Eesti Energia is a market participant company, whose proposals for the general meeting can be submitted through the supervisory board and the ministry, and that the company's goal is to earn revenue by selling energy and to keep nature within the framework; the readiness of the plants must be maintained, and the management can talk about its own affairs.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, invited Lauri Laatsi to take the floor.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats said that the Centre Party is positive about green energy only within reasonable limits, warning that the Climate Ministry's forecasts may be overrated and could increase the cost of green energy due to investments in large grids, and he advocates a balanced approach that preserves the use of oil shale and produces green energy where it is sensible and low-cost, and finally he asked which dispatchable capacities in Estonia would be the most reasonable.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal stressed that we need as much clean energy as is necessary so that prices are more affordable, the energy system must be balanced and reliable even at peak times, some oil shale power plants will be kept in reserve, and in the future gas and hydrogen plants may be used as well as nuclear energy.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman thanks and invites Vladimir Arhipov to take the floor.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov asks the prime minister what energy-policy preferences and personal advantages for Estonia's security he currently sees — whether they lie in a nuclear power plant, in hydrogen, in gas, or in a joint Baltic States station in Lithuania.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
The prime minister emphasized that Estonia's energy system must be balanced and multifaceted: to provide high-quality connections for a cheaper energy price, to secure supplies in the absence of renewable energy, and to increase the share of renewable energy so that the average price would fall and the economy would be competitive.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanked the prime minister, stated that there are no more questions, opened negotiations, and invited Rain Epler, noting that the session is only just beginning.
Rain Epler
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Rain Epler noted that although the prime minister has revised his positions in recent days, for example by saying that gas plants do not need to be dismantled and can be used further, and that he is discussing the European Union's green-transition directions, the emotions that have arisen between the Estonian Environment Agency and Eesti Energia have shown room for development, and the transcript could be re-read.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech emphasizes the importance of self-confidence in politics and asks Urmas Reinsalu to speak.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech focused on an eight-minute duration.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu stated that the government's energy policy is based on ideology and that calculations and subsidy choices are insufficient, and he called for an ideologically neutral, practical decision-making environment that would focus on energy security, the competitiveness of the economy, and investments.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech was simply a word of thanks to Urmas.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu asserts that Estonia has enough expertise.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, thanks and turns to Evelin Poolametsa.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Renewable energy does not guarantee cheap electricity, and our energy system must be sustainable and stable, including storage capacities, frequency control and regulation mechanisms, and sufficient generation capacity that operates even when natural conditions do not favor production.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The Vice-Speaker Toomas Kivimägi thanks the parties and the prime minister, concludes the consideration of the third item on the agenda, and wishes a prosperous New Year.