This year Finland finally achieved self-sufficiency in electricity production. In other words, on an annual basis Finnish electricity producers sold the same amount of electricity as Finnish consumers used.
"This has been pondered and waited for, when this would happen," said Fingrid's deputy Managing Director Asta Sihvonen-Punkka. "Now that shift is happening, and it's a big thing. The times when we imported a fifth or even a quarter of our energy are behind us."
Sihvonen-Punkka takes over as Fingrid CEO at the turn of the year when current CEO Jukka Ruusunen retires.
She says that Finland's energy improvements have come from the Olkiluoto 3 reactor entering production in March and new production records in wind power.
A mild winter and energy saving habits developed in 2022, after Russian imported electricity was cut off, also helped.
If it were not for short breaks in production as Olkiluoto 3 started up, there would have been no net imports in 2023.
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Despite this improvement, and the anticipated transition to net exporter status in 2024, Sihvonen-Pukka said that big fluctuations in power pricing would continue.
Many Finnish consumers are on spot price contracts, in which the price of electricity changes hour-by-hour according to the market situation. Cold weather with no wind can mean a high price for households.
"The only certainty is that the price will fluctuate," said Sihvone-Pukka. "That is a consequence of the increase in weather-dependent production. But fluctuations can be useful too. If you can just time your own consumption and use electricity when it is cheap, then both your wallet and the electricity grid will thank you."
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