The Finnish Energy Authority has reported that households paid just under 7 percent less on their electricity bills in 2024 compared to 2023, with savings covering all charges including electricity prices, transmission, and taxes.
This meant an average saving of 75 euros on electricity bills for the year, while electric heating users saved an average of 210 euros.
According to the authority, savings could have been greater if most electricity distribution network companies hadn’t raised transmission fees, with an average increase of just over 2 percent.
The overall price decrease was driven by lower electricity market prices and households switching to cheaper contracts. Electricity costs are now about the same as before the Covid pandemic and energy crisis.
Low and negative spot prices
The Finnish Energy Authority also highlighted a trend that began in 2020 and has since become a regular part of daily life — there are now more hours each year when electricity costs nothing or even has a negative price.
In 2022, this was a rare occurrence, but last year, there were 900 such instances. As a result, consumers only paid the transmission fee for electricity for 37 full days, with no charge for the electricity itself.
This is attributed to the rapid growth of wind power. When wind production is high, electricity prices are low, while prices spike during windless hours.
Last year, wind power's share of electricity production rose to 25 percent, up from 18 percent the year before.
However, the number of zero- and negative-price hours is expected to decrease as energy storage for surplus electricity improves.
Prices slightly below EU average.
According to statistics from the trade association Finnish Energy, the total electricity price in Finland, including taxes, is just below the EU average.
However, the price of electricity alone was the third lowest in Europe last year, following only Sweden and Norway. Transmission fees and taxes bring Finland closer to the EU average.
"Especially in countries still reliant on fossil fuels, electricity is significantly more expensive," said Jukka Leskelä, Managing Director of Finnish Energy.
Leskelä noted that the increase in renewable electricity has helped lower prices, a point he said is often overlooked in public discussions. For instance, in coal-dependent Poland, the cost of electricity is more than twice as high as in Finland.
At the same time, emissions from electricity production in Finland have plummeted, now only a tenth of what they were in 2010.