Estonian grid operator Elering opens tender for crisis management center

Elering, the state-owned operator of Estonia's electricity and gas transmission systems, has opened a tender for the construction of a new crisis management center in Tallinn. The expected cost is €28.7 million before value-added tax. The center is part of a wider crisis preparedness program prompted by a changed security situation.

The facility is to be built next to the company's head office on Kadaka tee street in Tallinn. It must comply with state defense security requirements and is expected to be finished within two years.

Security and lessons from Ukraine

Hannes Kont, head of Elering's crisis preparedness unit, said the altered security situation led the company to start a highly extensive preparedness program, under which money is being invested in infrastructure security. The new center is one element of it.

Kont stressed that system dispatchers must be able to monitor and control the situation at any moment through secure data channels. Citing developments in Ukraine and the threat assessments issued by the state, he said the required level of security has become considerably higher and more precise, and the work must be done in a much more secure environment than before.

The company will not disclose the technological solutions that are meant to provide a near microsecond-level overview of the state of the electricity and gas infrastructure, citing security concerns.

Timeline

Kont said Elering wants to conclude the construction contract by the beginning of next year at the latest. Tender participants must submit a preliminary bid with a 20-month deadline. The company aims to sign the contract by the start of 2027, which would allow the center to be completed by the end of 2028 or the start of 2029. Kont acknowledged the company is in a hurry but said it will see what the market offers.