In 2024, the Competition Division conducted 17 supervisory proceedings, and the Regulatory Division conducted 7.
The emphasis was on focal topics such as energy and waste transport, but the implementation of patient insurance also needed to be supervised.
In 2024, the Competition Authority focused on determining the competitive situation in the waste transport market. In recent years, the Authority has repeatedly dealt with complaints related to waste transport. For example, market participants have pointed to problems in the organisation of waste transport procurements, while waste holders are often concerned about the deteriorated quality of waste transport services and unreasonably high prices for additional services.
In 2022, the Compulsory Liability Insurance of Health Care Providers Act was adopted, which obliges every health care provider operating under a licence to enter into a liability insurance contract no later than 30 calendar days from the entry into force of the Act. The Act entered into force on 1 November 2024. During the drafting of the Act, three insurance companies expressed their willingness to offer compulsory liability insurance for health care providers. Shortly before the law entered into force, it became clear that two of them would not offer the service after all, leaving the Estonian branch of AB ‘Lietuvos draudimas’ as the only provider of patient insurance. The Competition Authority received a total of 8 notifications regarding the introduction of compulsory patient insurance.
On 31 December 2024, the Competition Authority rejected Elektrilevi OÜ’s application for approving higher network fees. Elektrilevi OÜ’s request concerning network fees was related to changed fees of the network service purchased from the transmission system operator Elering AS. The Competition Authority's analysis showed that such an increase in network fees is not justified, especially since the distribution network company had the opportunity to reduce costs through its operations, for example, by changing the package of the main network operator. On 30 January 2025, the Competition Authority also commenced supervisory proceedings concerning the activities of Elektrilevi OÜ to verify whether Elektrilevi OÜ has used the agreed maintenance and repair funds of the network tariff for the intended purpose (including power line maintenance) and whether business continuity is ensured. In addition, the Authority will check whether the undertaking’s process of preventing and fixing power outages has become faster and more efficient compared to what was stated in the precept of the Competition Authority of 21 December 2023, taking into account the large-scale power outages that have occurred throughout Estonia since 11 January 2025.
Subtopics:
Competitive situation in the organised waste transport market and pricing of additional services
Concentration of OÜ Playground Advertising, AS Postimees Grupp and Target Master
Price proceedings and supervisory proceedings against Elektrilevi
Call for tenders for the purchase of heat in Narva