On November 25, one of the most important autumn meetings in the energy sector, the Energy Annual Conference 2025, took place. The conference, organized in cooperation with Äripäev, brought together nearly 200 experts in the field to discuss the most current topics in the Baltic energy market.

The conference provided a overview of the current state of Estonian energy, addressing energy infrastructure security, market stabilisation, price trends and opportunities to enhance cooperation between producers and consumers. COBALT Managing Associate Mart Blöndal moderated the day.

Mart also shared his main takeaways from the conference:

  • Bringing additional generation capacity to the market is becoming a security issue and every company has a role to play. The state aims for a balanced approach because overly strict security requirements could hinder the development of new production capacity.
  • The Baltic states have had some of the most volatile electricity prices in Europe, prompting a race towards battery storage solutions. The market can still absorb new investments for some time, but the clear winners will be those who bring their storage solutions to the market first. Estonia is in direct competition with Latvia and Lithuania in this regard.
  • In addition to storage, Estonia needs new generation capacity capable of producing affordable electricity. These are typically large-scale, capital-intensive projects that require state support.

In the second part of the day, Elo Tamm, COBALT’s Partner, and Evelin Pärn-Lee, Director General of the Estonian Competition Authority, discussed market volatility and the practical workings of regulatory oversight.

The Baltic capacity market for frequency reserves was launched on 4 February 2025 as part of synchronising the Baltic electricity systems with the Continental European frequency area. However, numerous questions have arisen regarding potential market manipulation in the frequency reserves market. The discussion provided an overview of the Competition Authority’s supervisory activities and how the Authority ensures compliance with regulations prohibiting insider trading and market manipulation.

The conference was organised by Äripäev and COBALT, with support from KIA. We have been a content partner of the conference since 2017. This event is one of the largest energy conferences in Estonia.

We would like to thank our office partners Aivar Taro and Elo Tamm and Managing Associate Mart Blöndal, who helped organize the conference.

Gallery: https://www.toostusuudised.ee/uudised/2025/11/27/galerii-energia-aastakonverents-2025

Photo: Andras Kralla