Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday reported that the price will surge to up to 68 cents per kilowatt-hour during the peak demand hours of 9am and 7pm as a result of three overlapping disruptions: limitations to electricity transmission capacity between Finland and Sweden, the suspension of electricity production at Olkiluoto 2 and the annual maintenance of Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant.

DISRUPTIONS in Finnish electricity production and transmission capacity are having a significant impact on spot electricity prices.

Moreover, winds are forecast to be weak.

There is a stark difference to the beginning of the month. The newspaper pointed out that the average tax-free price of electricity was roughly 1.3 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first nine days of August.

Jukka Leskelä, the managing director of Finnish Energy, stated to YLE on Sunday that the situation will be one of the worst on Monday. “I’d rather not and really can’t make any predictions about the prices, but this week will definitely be pretty tough unless the winds pick up,” he commented.

The most surprising of the disruptions is the shutdown of the second reactor at Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant, which is operated by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO).

TVO on Friday announced the reactor was shut down in the early hours of the day due to an increase in humidity in the water-cooled generator on the turbine island. The cause has been identified as a leak in the generator’s cooling system.

The plant operator estimated that the 900-megawatt reactor is expected to resume electricity production on 28 August.

Leskelä on Sunday told YLE that the historically high prices are unlikely to have a major impact on household and public costs.

“Luckily we know the reasons for the situation and know that it’s temporary. The period of very high prices will hopefully be very short-lived and, when prices fluctuate so much within a single day, many customers will surely have the opportunity to avoid the highest prices or at least reduce consumption,” he gauged.

Transmission capacity between Finland and Sweden is limited due to maintenance. While the 400-megawatt southern connection is expected to be restored at 6pm on Monday, the 1,000-megawatt northern connection will remain unavailable until 17 September, Pekka Salomaa, the director of electricity markets at Finnish Energy, stated to Helsingin Sanomat.

Aleksi Teivainen – HT