The peak consumption during the weekend’s record cold temperatures was significantly lower than the surge that took place in mid-December. Timo Kaukonen, head of planning at Fingrid, says that the main reasons for the low peak consumption level are the fact that the cold temperatures occurred during the Christmas holidays and the weekend.
The all-time record for electricity consumption in Finland took place in 2007, when industry was churning out high profits, and buying significantly more electricity than before. Peak consumption in that year was 14,900 megawatts an hour. Recent peak consumption was 2,000 MW lower.
Kaukonen estimates that about 1,000 megawatts of industrial demand has disappeared permanently.
Finland nevertheless remains dependent on electricity imports, although the balance between electricity imports and exports has changed. Finland currently exports electricity to Sweden as well.