Fingrid enables power system transition: Mega investments and proposals for concrete reforms for the electricity market

​The power system is being shaken by an unprecedented transition, with carbon-free and weather-dependent electricity generation rapidly gaining ground. Fingrid targets extensive, efficient electricity markets that ensure power adequacy in the Baltic Sea Region. The green power system of the future must be supported by strong transmission connections and market rules revamped for the 2020s.

Investments of hundreds of millions of euros in the grid

Fingrid is preparing three major transmission connections that will help make the switch to a green electricity system well-controlled and safe.

 
A third 400 kilovolt AC link will be built between Finland and Sweden at the latest in 2025. Inclusion of the connection, which will cost around EUR 200 million, in the EU’s list of energy infrastructure priority projects during 2017 is important to secure the project schedule. The new connection will increase the transmission capacity between the two countries by 800 megawatts. The transmission connection to Sweden also requires strengthening Finland’s internal connections. The Forest Line from Oulu to Petäjävesi will increase the transmission capacity between northern and southern Finland by 700 megawatts.

At the same time, the Finnish and Swedish TSOs have started planning the new Kvarken DC link. According to the plans, the new connection of around 800-megawatt connection will be built by the end of 2020s. The Kvarken connection would replace the Fenno-Skan 1 DC connection, which is reaching the end of its service life. In Finland, the starting point for the new link would be in the Vaasa region.

“We are part of the developing Baltic Sea Region electricity market. We develop electricity market operations from the perspective of regional and European markets. The new transmission connections will bring market benefits to the whole Baltic Sea Region and enable a transformation of the power system which will involve a major increase in renewable electricity generation,” says Jukka Ruusunen, President & CEO of Fingrid.