EU country’s electricity prices 5 times higher this year
The cost of electricity in Finland exceeded €400 per megawatt-hour during peak consumption hours this week, according to data from the Nord Pool electricity exchange.
The highest price was recorded on November 29, at €422 per MWh (including taxes). That’s about five times higher than a year ago.
Finland is energy-dependent, with about 10% of its electricity supplied by Russia. Experts attribute the increased price to high energy costs in Central Europe, where a large amount of electricity is generated from natural gas, the price of which has increased significantly. They say electricity in Finland is likely to remain expensive until next summer, when the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant is expected to become operational.
Natural gas costs have been rising for European consumers with the winter season approaching. On Tuesday, the price of January futures on the TTF exchange in the Netherlands exceeded $1,170 per thousand cubic meters, or €100 per MWh in household terms.
“According to our forecast, the price of electricity will remain high in winter but will start to decline in spring. It is likely that it will not be as high as it is today, but the overall level remains elevated,” a spokesman for Finnish electricity company Fingrid, Mikko Heikkila, told journalists.
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He added that “Finland is very dependent on imports. In winter we need energy from neighboring countries but if the electricity market and domestic electricity production work normally, then next winter there will be enough electricity.”
According to Fingrid, the share of electricity imports from Russia amounted to 10% of consumption in Finland in the first nine months of 2021.
The average price of Russian electricity was €57.98 per MWh. Russian energy company Inter RAO said last week that most of its electricity export volume goes to Finland (37%), the Baltic countries (23%), and China (18%).
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