Finland blew out: electricity is distributed almost for free

A strong storm broke out off the coast of Finland and a gale blew. The market price of electricity has collapsed tenfold.

The wind speed off the coast of Finland has reached 25-30 meters per second in the last two days. According to the operator of the Fingrid power grid, this turned out to be enough for the capacity of wind farms to grow to 6.7 GW in some hours. This is almost a record figure. It is second only to the figures of November 20, when the power of wind generation increased to 6.9 GW.

This turned out to be enough so that on November 24 and 25, the cost of electricity on the wholesale market fell from an average of 43 euros per MWh to 4.28-3.73 euros per MWh. In some hours at night, the cost drops to minus 1 euro.

The operator of the Finnish power grid predicts that the capacity of wind power will decrease in the next few days. Therefore, the price will also rise. On November 26, it is already projected at 18 euros per MWh.

According to Nord Pool, there were 14 days in Finland this year when the average electricity price on the market was negative, and 45 days when it did not exceed 5 euros per MWh. However, green generation is not stable. Therefore, there were days in the country when the average price reached 890 euros per MWh.

"In the winter of 2024-25, Finland's electricity supply looks stable if significant disruptions at power plants can be avoided and electricity imports can be adjusted," Fingrid reports. According to him, on the coldest windless winter day, the consumption capacity can grow to 15 GW. At the same time, the country's power plants can provide a maximum of about 12 GW. And another 3 GW is possible with the help of imports from Sweden and Estonia.

"To ensure the sufficiency of electricity, it is extremely important that there are internal production facilities. According to Fingrid's analysis, the electric power system can withstand one significant malfunction at a large production facility or in a cross—border connection, but if several malfunctions occur simultaneously, the situation with electricity is significantly tightened," the operator reports.

As EADaily reported, the main failures in the country's power system occur at nuclear power plants, including the most powerful third power unit of the Olkiluoto station — 1.6 GW. This year, the reactor has been forced to reduce power several times, thereby causing both a shortage of electricity and a rapid rise in prices.