Electricity prices soar in Finland amid fluctuating supply and maintenance issues

Currently, the price of electricity in Finland is experiencing significant fluctuations. During the summer, prices remained low, at times even dipping into negative territory. However, at the beginning of September, electricity prices surged, with notable spikes. On Tuesday, for instance, the price peaked at over 31 cents per kilowatt-hour. Today, Thursday, the hourly price is expected to exceed 30 cents at 8 PM. This situation is puzzling, as cooler autumn weather typically drives up electricity demand and prices; yet recent days have been hot and sunny.

According to Pekka Salomaa, the head of the energy market department at Energiateollisuus, the primary reason for these fluctuations is linked to electricity supply and transmission. Over supply previously kept prices low throughout the Nordic countries during summer, but domestic production has recently weakened, particularly in wind energy compared to August. Salomaa notes that variability in wind output is common, and current figures are unlikely to be higher in the near future.

Additionally, Finland’s electricity generation is hindered by the shutdown of the Loviisa nuclear power plant for maintenance, creating a gap of about 450 megawatts in production. An unusual situation arose on Thursday when electricity was transferred from Finland to Sweden, despite market indicators suggesting the opposite.

Fingrid, the national grid operator, announced on Wednesday that the transmission capacity from Sweden to Finland will be temporarily limited due to maintenance work. This restriction will reduce capacity by half and could lead to greater price variations until mid-October. Both Fingrid and Energiateollisuus acknowledge that current domestic production is insufficient and note that the situation would be different if Sweden’s transmission connections were fully operational.