1 October 2025: 96 prices instead of 24
The European single day-ahead market switched to a 15-minute trading period on 30 September 2025. The first day with quarter-hour prices was 1 October 2025. Nord Pool also shows the hourly price: the average of the four quarter-hour prices of that hour.
In the tariif.ee database the Estonian spot price is hourly until 30.09.2025 and by quarter hour from 1.10.2025 at 00:00.
One hour, four prices
The price can move a lot within one hour. The largest gap in the last 30 days was on 29.10.2026 at 7–8:
Spot price €/kWh, Nord Pool, Estonian bidding zone.
In the last 30 days the gap between the most expensive and the cheapest quarter hour of an hour was 0.042 €/kWh on average. The gap was over 0.05 €/kWh in 32% of hours.
Hourly meter or 15-minute meter
Old meter: by the hour
The network operator splits the hour’s consumption into four equal parts. On an exchange package you pay the hourly price. In the example above every kWh had a spot price of 0.255 €, whichever quarter hour you used it in.
New meter: by 15 minutes
Every quarter hour has its own price. In the example above a kWh used at 07:45 had a spot price of 0.407 €, at 07:15 0.080 €.
How to find out which one you have:
- In Elering’s customer portal, the metering point data shows whether data comes by the hour or by 15 minutes.
- Elektrilevi customers see the same in the self-service under consumption history.
The network operator installs the new meter gradually, by 2031 at the latest. It is free for household customers and cannot be ordered separately at the moment.
Contract, fixed price and network contract
All contracts remain valid. On a fixed-price package nothing changes until the contract ends. On an exchange package the package and the agreed price stay the same; only the number of prices used for your consumption changes. You do not need to change your network contract.
How to use the quarter-hour price
If you have a 15-minute meter, it pays to start large consumption (washing machine, water heater, electric car) in the cheapest quarter hour, not just the cheapest hour. On the home page chart you can choose: 15 min shows the price of every quarter hour, Hour shows the hourly price.
With an old meter, choose “Hour” on the chart: that is the price your consumption is billed at.
The cheapest time to charge an electric car is on the EV charging page.
Questions
Do I need to do anything?
No. The network operator replaces or configures the meter itself and contracts remain valid.
Is the hourly price gone?
No. The hourly price is now the average of the four quarter-hour prices of that hour. With an old meter, that is what you pay.
Does the new meter cost anything?
Not for household customers. The network operator bears the cost.
Sources: Elering (in Estonian), “30 September brings 15-minute prices to the Estonian electricity market” (29.09.2025); Elering (in Estonian), “From April consumption and production can be followed by quarter hour” (27.03.2025); Elering, transition to a 15-minute market time unit.