REPLACEMENT OF THE REGULATED PRICE OF OIL SHALE-BASED ELECTRICITY WITH OPEN-MARKET PRICE AND REAL-TIME TARIFF SYSTEM OPPORTUNITIES

The Estonian retail electricity market opened on the 1st of January 2013. The wholesale electricity market has been operating open successfully for some time already. The liberalized electricity market creates new opportunities for consumers. From 1 January 2013, all electricity producers compete on power exchange. This means that the price of the electricity produced from oil shale is no longer regulated by the State and Narva Power Plants, like other power companies, are competing in the open electricity market. The liberalized electricity market and new remotely readable meters enable retail dealers to offer consumers more flexible packages. For example, a new pricing system could be developed that takes into account actual costs of electricity production at the exact time these are made. The aim of this article is to give an overview of possibilities of real-time pricing and compare the existing tariff systems to the hourly variable pricing tariff system.