The planned maintenance and repair work at the Auvere plant will start on Friday evening and end in the first hour of August 13.

A nearly three‑month shutdown is a long period. Enefit Power CEO Raine Pajo said that regular maintenance at the Auvere plant typically lasts several months, as larger-scale work is carried out during that time. For example, in previous years heat exchangers have been modernized. Last year, the extended maintenance period was due to a major overhaul.

"This year's annual maintenance includes more extensive cleaning and repair of the flue gas ducts, as well as an inspection and repair of the chimney following a drone-related incident," he said.

Technical maintenance also involves inspections of masonry, heating surfaces, turbine equipment, pipelines, ash removal systems, conveyors, and other plant components.

Pajo noted that the maintenance period does not threaten the operation of the power system in Estonia, as the necessary production capacity is covered by other generating units. "Summer maintenance is scheduled for a period when electricity demand and market prices are lower, so that its impact on the market and consumers is kept to a minimum," he added.

Auvere is not the only Enefit Power plant that undergoes extended maintenance and repair during the year. However, its maintenance outage is the longest, as it has the highest annual operating hours and therefore the greatest maintenance need, Pajo explained.

"Among our other dispatchable capacities, annual maintenance is planned this summer for Unit 11 of the Baltic Power Plant and Unit 3 of the Eesti Power Plant. Maintenance of Unit 8 at the Eesti Power Plant has already been completed," he said.

Maintenance delayed due to electricity prices

Tiit Hõbejõgi, a member of Enefit's management board and head of energy trading, said that during the first half of this week, wind and solar conditions from Poland to Scandinavia were weaker than usual, meaning that renewable energy was insufficient to meet demand. As a result, the average daily electricity price rose to a level at which it made sense to start up the Auvere plant, so the start of maintenance was postponed by a few days.

At the same time, this price increase was unusual, as in recent years renewable energy has accounted for about 75% of electricity production in the Baltics during this time of year, keeping prices low. Last year, electricity prices were lowest from May through early August.

"In such conditions, oil shale power plants generally do not enter the market, which is why it makes sense to schedule major maintenance during this period. Nevertheless, Eesti Energia's other oil shale plants are ready to replace the Auvere plant if market demand arises. Therefore, the maintenance of the Auvere power plant will not have a significant impact on consumer electricity prices," Hõbejõgi said.

The Auvere plant's reliability was 86.6% in 2025, with a target of 90%. Last year, it produced 985 gigawatt‑hours of electricity, accounting for approximately 19% of Estonia's total annual electricity generation.

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