The Estonian competition authority, Konkurentsiamet, has fined Futugrid Technologies OÜ for breaching market rules by submitting a non-genuine bid in the balancing energy market.

On March 31, 2025, Futugrid Technologies submitted a bid of -9999 euros/MWh for 1 MW in the balancing energy market. This bid was intended to avoid activation during a software update, despite the company having previously submitted a bid in the Baltic balancing capacity market.

The authority determined that the bid was not genuine as it aimed to prevent activation in the balancing energy market while fulfilling obligations in the capacity market. The misleading bid sent false signals and directly influenced market pricing.

According to Article 5 of the EU Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT), market manipulation is prohibited. The Estonian Electricity Market Act § 101⁴ allows for fines of up to 32,000 euros for such violations.

The decision is not yet final and can be contested in court as provided by law.