The high electricity prices that broke records this week are not the fault of renewable energy or its producers, but the lack of renewable energy capacity and the unexpectedly rapid recovery of the economy, Elering’s CEO Taavi Veskimägi said on Wednesday. He said it is too early to say that European energy policy would have failed.
Speaking on ETV’s current affairs show “Esimene stuudio”, Veskimägi said prices will not always remain high.
“The new normal will be that there will be hours where electricity is very cheap, there will be hours where electricity is very expensive. Due to the fact that in the future there will be more and more unplanned running cycle production equipment, i.e. wind or solar power plants in the network. We are likely to not see a stable high price in the future,” he said.
Veskimägi noted that regarding the green transition, it is important to keep in mind why we are doing it.
“What is the cost of opportunity if we don’t? It has been calculated and, of course, these calculations are very different, but we understand that it will be the cost of trillions if we do not try to curb climate change if we do not curb greenhouse gas emissions.”
To mitigate the effects of high electricity prices on people with lower incomes, Veskimägi sees targeted social benefits as a solution rather than lowering electricity prices for everyone.
Read more: ERR.EE
