Our public procurement team successfully advised and represented Elering, an independent electricity and gas system operator in Estonia, on the procurement for the reconstruction of a 330 kv overhead transmission line in the Viru 330 kv substation and Tartu 330/110 kv substation.
Strategic goal of energy security for Baltic States
Currently Estonia imports two thirds of electricity, most of which is produced in Russia. To ensure long-term security of supply and energy security, Elering is working towards joining the Baltic States energy markets strongly with the rest of Europe. This means desynchronising the Estonian electricity system from the Unified Energy System of Russia and instead, integrating it into the European Union’s electricity system. The synchronisation of the Baltic electricity networks with the continental European synchronous area is expected to be completed by 31 December 2025, after which our electricity system will be disconnected from the existing North-West Russian frequency area.
Both procurements by Elering concern the synchronisation of the Estonian power system to the Continental Europe’s power system. It is a project of pan-Baltic importance, involving all three Baltic countries and is co-financed by the Connecting European Facility of the European Union.
Our advice
We advised and represented Elering successfully in two public procurement disputes. One of them concerned Elering’s decision to disqualify a tenderer due to the lack of the required qualifications. The other dispute concerned a claim to exclude the successful tenderer because the appellant was of the opinion that the winner of the tender had a disproportionate advantage as it had fulfilled a previous public procurement contract to Elering. Therefore, the appellant was of the position that the winner had more information for making the bid.
In both cases, the court and Public Procurement Dispute Committee found that Elering’s actions had been lawful. Elering had rightfully found that one of the tenderers qualifications were insufficient and that the tenderer winning the other public procurement had no disproportionate advantages. Both cases were important for Elering to continue with the construction works to secure that Estonia is able to join the Continental European power grid on time and that the whole synchronisation project will not suffer delays.
Our client team
Elering was advised throughout both disputes by our public procurement and dispute resolution specialists. Our client team was led by senior associate Kadri Härginen, supported by partner Carri Ginter, senior associate Mario Sõrm and associate Gerli Gritsenko.
