Eesti Energia shut down the Iru power plant on July 5 for summer maintenance. The boiler and heat production were restarted on September 8, and electricity production is scheduled to resume on Friday, October 31, said Marek Tull, head of the Iru cogeneration plant, to ERR.

The boiler and turbine of the Iru waste-to-energy unit undergo scheduled maintenance every year, lasting two to three weeks.

"A major overhaul, like this year's, is carried out every five years. Larger overhauls are planned well in advance for a period when market demand is low. While the original plan was for a shorter shutdown, additional work was identified during the maintenance of both the boiler and turbine, which extended the downtime," Tull said.

He noted that once electricity production at Iru resumes, 17 megawatts of generating capacity will be added to the market. "Since this represents a marginal share of the total generation capacity in the Baltics, its impact on electricity prices is virtually negligible."

The electricity generation capacity of the Iru waste-to-energy unit, which was renovated in 2013, is 17 megawatts, and its heat production capacity is 50 megawatts.

The power plant is owned by Enefit Green, a subsidiary of Eesti Energia.

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