Electricity generation, network and line licences in Estonia

In Estonia, generating electricity above 1 MW, running a distribution or transmission network, and transmitting electricity through a direct line or a cross-border direct current (DC) line each need an activity licence under the Electricity Market Act.¹¹² The Estonian Competition Authority (Konkurentsiamet) decides, and the licence is entered in the Register of Economic Activities.⁹¹⁰ This page sets out who needs which licence, the requirements, the state fee and the statutory time limit.

Information as of 11 November 2026. Every numbered statement of this page was checked in the official text named below and re-checked by a second reviewer on 2026-11-11. The page is general information, not legal advice; the authority decides on every application.

What the activity is

The Electricity Market Act (elektrituruseadus, "ELTS") requires an activity licence (tegevusluba) for five fields: generation of electricity; network service through a distribution network; network service through the transmission network; transmission of electricity through a cross-border direct current line; and transmission of electricity through a direct line or direct lines.¹

• Transmission network (põhivõrk) is the nationwide network of at least 110 kV with connections above 10 kV to other countries' networks; every other network is a distribution network (jaotusvõrk).² Only one undertaking is granted the licence for transmission network service.³
• A direct line (otseliin) is a line in a network operator's service area that has no separate connection to the network (except to a closed distribution network) and carries electricity from one power plant to another or to another market participant.⁴ It may be built on the plant's own or an adjacent property or from the generating installation to the electrical installation it supplies; elsewhere only after a refused connection that a dispute at Konkurentsiamet did not resolve, or with the network operator's written consent.⁵
• Generation is producing electricity with a generating installation; the size measure the act uses is net capacity (netovõimsus), the maximum output the installation feeds into the network.⁶

Sale of electricity to customers is not covered here; it is explained on a separate page. To act as a seller of electricity, an undertaking must file a notice of economic activities with the Register of Economic Activities.⁷

The legal act and the authority

• Act: Electricity Market Act (elektrituruseadus), version in force from 1 October 2026; general licensing rules come from the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act (majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus, "MSÜS").⁸
• Authority: Konkurentsiamet resolves licence applications and carries out state supervision under the act.⁹
• Register: licences are recorded in the Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register, "MTR"), whose controller is the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA); the authority that decides enters the data.¹⁰ Applications may be filed through the state portal (Eesti teabevärav) or a notary.¹¹

Who must apply and the main exemptions

Every undertaking in one of the five fields needs the licence.¹ The act names these exemptions:

• generation with a generating installation of up to 1 MW net capacity;¹²
• transmission of electricity through a direct line connected to a generating installation of up to 1 MW net capacity;¹³
• transmission of electricity through a closed distribution network, or by a person who, outside its main business, supplies electricity within its own building or property to the lawful users of that building or property, or by a non-profit association supplying its members' apartments, summer houses, garages or houses;¹⁴
• generation by a network operator in the cases the act allows, for example only to cover network losses.¹⁵

Nuclear generation is possible only on the basis of a decision of the Riigikogu (Parliament).¹⁶

Separately, Konkurentsiamet must be notified in writing when a person acquires or takes into use a network or line, starts building or acquires a generating installation above 1 MW, or acquires control of such an undertaking.¹⁷

Requirements for the applicant

Seat. A legal person acting as an electricity undertaking must be registered in the European Economic Area; this does not apply to the holder of a direct line.¹⁸

Capital. The share capital must be at least EUR 127,800 for a network operator and for the holder of a cross-border DC line, and at least EUR 31,950 for a producer.¹⁹

All licences. The licence is granted if the applicant meets these form and capital requirements.²⁰

Distribution network service additionally requires: an organisation that fits the scope and nature of the activity; a sufficient number of competent staff, including persons competent for electrical work and for operating electrical installations; economic prerequisites; other prerequisites to act in line with the act; and that the activity does not endanger security of supply.²¹ The area applied for must be suitable for distribution and the grant must not conflict with the exclusivity of existing service areas.²² A distribution operator must have the resources to maintain and develop the network; one with at least 100,000 connected consumers is also subject to management independence rules.²³

Transmission network service is licensed only to a person that owns the transmission network, meets the unbundling rules and also meets the conditions listed above for distribution network service; under the unbundling rules, whoever controls the transmission operator may not control an undertaking that generates or sells electricity or natural gas.²⁴ Konkurentsiamet carries out a certification procedure with an opinion of the European Commission.²⁵ The same unbundling rules apply to the holder of a cross-border DC line.²⁶

Direct line and cross-border DC line. The grant must be consistent with the act's rules on network exclusivity and on direct and cross-border lines.²⁷

Ongoing duties. An electricity undertaking keeps separate accounts for each licensed field and for other activities,²⁸ and arranges the audit of its annual report under the Auditors Activities Act; a producer with 1 MW or more that has no statutory audit duty must have a review.²⁹ The transmission operator and a distribution operator with more than 100,000 connected consumers may not generate or sell electricity.³⁰

AML/CFT, IT and outsourcing. Whether anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT), IT or outsourcing conditions apply is specified for the client's case.

Documents filed with the application

General data (MSÜS): name and registry code, contact details, the field of activity with its classification code, the signatory's details, data on qualified persons, place of business, certificates or liability insurance where the requirements under review include them, and other data the act requires.³² A company still being founded may file its founding document instead of a registry code; the licence then takes effect at the earliest when the company acquires legal capacity.³³

Additional data under the Electricity Market Act:³⁴

• distribution network service: the definition and a schematic plan of the service area;
• cross-border DC line or direct line: the line's maximum permitted operating voltage, length, location plan and geographical coordinates;
• direct line: a document proving that the conditions for building and using a direct line are met.

The licence states conditions set by the act, such as the maximum net capacity and location of a generating installation, a network's maximum voltage and service area, or a line's voltage, coordinates and length.³⁵

State fee and processing time

The state fee (riigilõiv) under the State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus) is:³⁶

The distribution volume is last year's electricity delivered to consumers plus network losses; a new operator uses its planned volume.³⁷ A request to change licence conditions costs 50% of the rate.³⁸

Konkurentsiamet resolves an application within 60 days, and an application for transmission network service within ten months.³⁹ The time limit runs from the submission of all required data; the authority may ask for more data, may suspend the time limit for up to 30 days while a shortcoming is remedied, and may extend it once by up to 30 days because of the complexity of the case.⁴⁰ The principle that a licence takes effect by the authority's silence does not apply where the licence must be granted with ancillary conditions, which the act attaches to these licences; the exception is the transmission network certification, where the act deems the licence issued if Konkurentsiamet makes no certification decision within its time limit.⁴¹ A licence is issued without a time limit unless the law or the applicant provides otherwise.⁴² These time limits are the law's, not a promise of a decision or a date.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

The service row "Activity licence application documentation" covers: the requirements of the act for the activity, from its official text; and the submission through the Register of Economic Activities and the written follow-up of the authority's questions. The timeline is by agreement.⁴³ The price is from €3,500, one-time; LexorCorp Global OÜ is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added.⁴⁴ This is the professional fee for the work described; it is not the price of a licence and does not include state fees, share capital or third-party costs, and the licence is granted by the authority.⁴⁵

LexorCorp Global OÜ prepares the application documents and manages the process. It does not give legal advice, audit or tax advice, and it does not promise the licence, a date or any decision of Konkurentsiamet.

Order: order form

Sources

1. ELTS § 22 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
2. ELTS § 3 p 21 and p 11 — text in force from 01.10.2026
3. ELTS § 22 (4), § 26 (5) — text in force from 01.10.2026
4. ELTS § 3 p 20 — text in force from 01.10.2026
5. ELTS § 61 (1) p 1, (1²) — text in force from 13.06.2025 (§ 61 (1) p 1); act version 01.10.2026
6. ELTS § 3 p 25 and p 19 — text in force from 01.10.2026
7. ELTS § 22¹ (1); § 22 (1) does not list sale — text in force from 01.10.2026
8. Riigi Teataja header of ELTS and MSÜS — text in force from 01.10.2026
9. ELTS § 23 (1), § 93 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
10. MSÜS § 8 (1), (4), (5) — text in force from 01.09.2025
11. MSÜS § 9 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2025
12. ELTS § 22 (2) p 1 — text in force from 25.03.2022 (provision); act version 01.10.2026
13. ELTS § 22 (2) p 7 — text in force from 25.03.2022 (provision); act version 01.10.2026
14. ELTS § 22 (2) p 2 with § 15 (6) p 1–2 — text in force from 01.10.2026
15. ELTS § 22 (2) p 6 with § 16 (3) p 2 — text in force from 01.10.2026
16. ELTS § 22 (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
17. ELTS § 19 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
18. ELTS § 15 (1), (4) — text in force from 01.10.2026
19. ELTS § 15 (2), (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
20. ELTS § 26 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
21. ELTS § 26 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
22. ELTS § 26 (3), § 60 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
23. ELTS § 18 (5), (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
24. ELTS § 26 (4), § 18¹ (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
25. ELTS § 26¹ (1)–(4) — text in force from 01.10.2026
26. ELTS § 18¹ (7), § 26 (7) — text in force from 01.10.2026
27. ELTS § 26 (6), (7) — text in force from 01.10.2026
28. ELTS § 16 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
29. ELTS § 17 (4) — text in force from 17.03.2023 (provision); act version 01.10.2026
30. ELTS § 16 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
32. MSÜS § 19 (2) p 1, 2, 6 with § 15 (1)–(5) — text in force from 01.09.2025
33. MSÜS § 19 (4) — text in force from 01.09.2025
34. ELTS § 23 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
35. ELTS § 32 (1)–(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
36. RLS § 136³ (1) p 2–11 — text in force from 01.07.2023 (provision); act version 01.11.2026
37. RLS § 136³ (2) — text in force from 01.07.2023 (provision); act version 01.11.2026
38. RLS § 136³ (3) — text in force from 01.07.2023 (provision); act version 01.11.2026
39. ELTS § 23 (1) — text in force from 01.07.2014 (provision); act version 01.10.2026
40. MSÜS § 20 (1)–(3), § 19 (6) — text in force from 01.09.2025
41. MSÜS § 20 (4) with ELTS § 32 (1)–(3) and ELTS § 26¹ (4)–(5) — text in force from 01.09.2025 / 01.10.2026
42. MSÜS § 24 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2025
43. LexorCorp Global price list and service description (price list)
44. LexorCorp Global price list and service description (price list)
45. LexorCorp Global price list and service description (price list)

Official sources

The laws this article names, each linked to its official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.

• Auditors Activities Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
• State Fees Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation

Sources in the text are named without links; the official texts are linked under Official sources. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.