Eesti Gaas ceases offering fixed price deals: press
Tighter gas markets have prompted Estonian gas distributor Eesti Gas to withdraw fixed price offers, as it can no longer sustain the wholesale cost differential, ERR reported May 13.
The utility is unsure if it can buy enough gas at the advertised price to last for the duration of new customer contracts. Eesti Energia's gas trading unit has around 4,500 customers. Its rival traders Alexela and 220 Energia continue to provide fixed-price deals to customers – both companies charge around €1.50 ($1.56) per m3 of gas.
Estonia's government said on April 7 it aimed to phase out Russian gas imports this year. To achieve this objective, it needs to confirm the availability of gas from alternative sources. Tallinn hopes to hire a floating LNG vessel to bring in regasified fuel via the port in Paldiski before this autumn, though the FSRU could also be stationed in Finland, under a bi-lateral agreement struck last month. Tallinn is also looking to import around 1 TWh of gas from its Baltic neighbour Latvia.