Electricity spot prices will shoot up on Thursday, according to Nordic power exchange NordPool.
The hourly price including value-added tax (VAT) will peak around 9am on Thursday morning, hitting 49 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh). Prices will remain elevated for several hours in the morning and early afternoon.
Finland's transmission system operator, Fingrid, said it expected wind power production to be modest on Thursday. At the same time the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor is still undergoing its annual maintenance, while the Olkiluoto 2 reactor was disconnected from the grid last Sunday for a refuelling outage, according to operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO).
Spot contracts popular
With summer approaching, power companies have said spot price contracts are becoming more popular with households.
Electricity firm Helen said that about a third of its new contracts are spot price agreements, while 60 percent are fixed-term deals. Fortum noted that demand for spot contracts has been growing over the past few years.
Finnish Energy, the energy sector's trade association, told Finnish news agency STT that while there were no major price spikes on the horizon, consumers could expect significant daily and monthly price fluctuations in the long-term.
The electricity price is calculated each day by Nordpool, after it takes in bids from energy producers based on what they expect to produce and matches that against the expected demand.
Extreme cold and problems at power stations contributed to the spot price hitting a record €2.35 per kWh at the start of the year.
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