OREANDA-NEWS. March 25, 2010. In February, Eesti Energia sold 747 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity on the domestic market outside the Eesti Energia Group, which is 8% more than in February 2009. Due to the sale of transmission system operator Elering, the sale of electricity to Elering during both the reporting period and the comparison period has been recognized as taking place outside the group.

Eesti Energia sold 400 GWh of electricity to business customers in February, which is 2.8% more than a year ago. Residential customers were sold 218 GWh of electricity in February, which is 23.9% more than in the same period last year. Eesti Energia’s sales to network operators made up 129 GWh, representing an increase of 1.8%.

Eesti Energia’s sales of electricity were impacted in a positive direction compared to last February by the ambient temperature, which was three degrees colder, and by the reporting of meter readings in advance in connection with the rise in electricity excise duty effective 1 March of this year. Sales to business customers were impacted by the deceleration of the decline in industrial output.

Export of electricity amounted to 221 GWh in February, which is 9.1% more than a year ago. Increased export to Lithuania in connection with the closure of Ignalina nuclear plant had a positive impact on electricity exports.

In February, Eesti Energia’s average selling price of electricity in Estonia, not including network services, was 473 kroons per megawatt hour (kr/MWh). The average base electricity price during the same period in Nord Pool’s Finnish region was 1466 kr/MWh.

Eesti Energia’s sales of thermal energy amounted to 241 GWh in February, which is 1 GWh more than a year ago. Thermal energy sales were also impacted in a positive direction by the lower ambient temperature in February.