Annual Report 2024

Dear Reader,


I am pleased to provide this overview of the activities of the Estonian Competition Authority in 2024. This year, we have taken a slightly different approach, which is also reflected in the structure of this annual report.

The aim of the Authority is to ensure fair competition and just prices. We also place importance on promoting innovation, protecting consumer interests, and ensuring the efficient functioning of markets.

In 2025, the focus of the Competition Division of the Estonian Competition Authority will be on telecommunications services, retail trade, the waste market, and digital markets and platforms – sectors that have recently attracted significant public attention.

The Competition Authority exercises state supervision over competition, electricity, natural gas, district heating, postal services, public water supply and sewerage, as well as railways, aviation and ports, and fights against unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain. The Authority is within the area of government of the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs.

The functions of the Competition Authority are divided between two divisions.

In 2024, the development of the Price Calculation Information System (HAI) continued, with the goal of automating the process of approving and monitoring prices for district heating, water, gas, and electricity network services, with the aim to make the process more transparent and efficient.

In 2024, the average exchange prices in the electricity and natural gas market decreased. The annual average exchange price of electricity in the Estonian price area was 87.27 €/MWh (90.78 €/MWh in 2023). The average natural gas exchange price in the Estonian price area in 2024 was 37.09 €/MWh (45.72 €/MWh in 2023).

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.

The Data and Economic Analysis Team, established in the autumn of 2023, completed its first full year of operation in 2024. There are three members in the team.  The unit operates horizontally within the organisation, serving both the Regulatory and the Competition Division based on the Authority’s priorities.
The high-priority tasks of the Data and Economic Analysis Team include implementing new software solutions to enhance the efficiency of the Authority. These solutions also aim to improve the collection and processing of information.

Energy and competition supervision are important topics that impact both the Estonian economy and people's everyday lives. The first subtopic discusses developments in energy policy, including amendments to the Natural Gas, Electricity Market, and District Heating Acts, which aim to enhance supply security and support the transition to a climate-neutral energy economy.

On 8 February 2025, the Baltic States disconnected themselves from the Russian electricity system, and on 9 February 2025, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania synchronised their electricity systems with that of continental Europe. It has taken decades of effort for the Baltic countries to synchronise their system with the European electricity system. The Competition Authority as an energy market regulator has also played a role in the preparatory process.