OREANDA-NEWS. June 17, 2014. Five privately-owned power companies have submitted a complaint to the Competition Authority demanding fair treatment for all electricity sellers, as state-owned Eesti Energia currently is allowed to send its clients a combined bill for power and grid charges, while others must send separate bills.

Clients of Elektrum, Elektrimuugi AS, 220 Energia, Eesti Gaas and Starman say that only Eesti Energia is allowed to send a combined bill, which the five companies say is a competition advantage.

According to legislation, all companies should be able to sign a deal with grid operator Elektrilevi, but currently only Eesti Energia has been allowed to do so. The companies say Eesti Energia is advertising the advantage to draw customers.

The Estonian electricity retail market was deregulated at the beginning of 2013, ending Eesti Energia's monopoly.

Eesti Energia's market share has dropped to less than 60 percent, with smaller sellers constantly increasing their share. In March Elektrum held a 15 percent market share as the largest of the others.