Estonia is facing a shortage of dry firewood amid an unusually cold winter, a situation exacerbated by record-high electricity prices that make processing the fuel economically unviable, according to the national broadcaster ERR.
Temperatures have dropped to as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius, some of the coldest seen in 25 years, sharply increasing demand for heating. However, sawmill owners report that inventories of seasoned, dry firewood have been exhausted. Taavi Rada, a sawmill owner, stated that only fresh, unseasoned wood is currently available. This shortage follows a period of mild winters that reduced demand for dry wood, discouraging suppliers from maintaining large, aged stocks.
The problem is compounded by soaring electricity costs. As resident and firewood supplier Tarmo Kamm explained, the cost of using electric motors to split wood has become prohibitive. “The electricity price is so high that right now there’s no point in sawing and splitting using electricity,” he said, noting that even if wood is cut manually, the essential splitting step remains electrically powered and now uneconomical.
This energy price shock is directly linked to the Baltic states’ successful decoupling from the Russian electricity grid last year. As part of the EU’s effort to sever energy ties with Moscow, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania synchronised with the continental European grid. The transition nearly doubled electricity prices in the region. Wholesalers confirm that the high electricity input costs have also led to shortages of manufactured alternatives like briquettes and pellets.
The trend toward burning unseasoned wood, which has a high moisture content, creates more smoke and significantly less heat. Properly dried firewood requires one to two years to reach below 20% moisture content, the optimal level for efficient and clean combustion.
The shortage also follows a government advisory last February urging citizens to stockpile “heating materials” amid concerns over potential power outages during the grid transition. While the feared Russian weaponisation of energy supplies never occurred, the decoupling itself triggered the enduring price inflation now impacting the traditional firewood market.
The situation underscores how the broader geopolitical shift in European energy security is having tangible, immediate effects on household energy costs and resource availability in nations like Estonia, where reliance on solid fuel for heating remains significant. With no immediate relief in sight for electricity prices, the availability of affordable, dry firewood is expected to remain constrained through the rest of the winter season.
Comments are closed for this story.