Energy, Estonia, Investments

Elering will invest the sum of money that is bigger than its asset volume in order to guarantee supply security of electricity and will come to the market with bonds next year, said the company’s manager Taavi Veskimägi.

Electricity bills will become slightly higher for people as in the next three years, grid fees will have to be raised by 1.32 sents per KWh a year. An average Estonian household consumes 225 kWh of electric energy a month, which means a growth of 3.4 kroons of growth of the grid fee for a household.

The proposal to raise the fee is processed currently by the Competition Board and the new rate might be enforced from January 1, 2011 already. “We have to increase the business activities income by 200 million kroons a year in the name of investments,” said Veskimägi.

Elering intends to take 3 billion kroons worth of loans in 2011-2013 to finance investments.

Elering will hold a bond issue in order to restructure the short-term 3 billion kroons syndicate loan taken at the end of 2009, with the help of which, main grid was separated from Eesti Energia. Elering will apply for an international credit rating to issue the bonds.