Finnish and Swedish transmission system operators making progress with the construction of a new transmission connection – the aim is to take the new connection into use by 2025

Transmission system operators Fingrid and Svenska kraftnät have decided to take the implementation of the third alternating current connection between Finland and Sweden forward. Fingrid’s Board of Directors made a decision on the issue on 15 December 2016 after Svenska kraftnät’s Board had already taken a similar decision. The project, aims for commissioning by 2025, advances to more detailed planning, which will look for a route for the transmission line that is suitable from the environmental perspective.

​Electricity transmission between Finland and Sweden is among the most congested in Europe. The import of electricity from Sweden has increased, and in the past few years, sufficient cross-border transmission capacity has been available to the electricity market for only around half of the time. In the arising bottleneck situations, the electricity price between Sweden and Finland has diverged.

During 2016, Fingrid and Svenska kraftnät carried out a study on the development needs of cross-border capacity. The study found that bottleneck situations will be probable in the future as well, meaning that there is a need for a new transmission connection. The most significant benefit of the new connection is the levelling of electricity price differences between the countries, but the third alternating current connection is also very important for the system security of the entire Finnish power system, adequacy of electricity and enhancing of the reserve market.

Fingrid intends to apply for the Project of Common Interest (PCI) status and later also financial support for the project from the EU. Next, the project will proceed to more detailed planning, after which follows the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The transmission line connection to be constructed will increase the transmission capacity from Sweden to Finland by 800 megawatts, which corresponds to around 30 per cent of the current capacity. The transmission line is planned from Messaure in Sweden via Keminmaa to Pyhänselkä in Finland, spanning a distance of around 370 kilometres. The estimated costs of the project are just under 200 million euros. The aim is to take the transmission line connection into use by 2025.