A grant for a Fingrid project - the third alternating current connection between Finland and Sweden has received €4.3 million from the EU for a technical evaluation

A joint project by transmission system operator Fingrid Oyj and the Swedish transmission system operator Svenska Kraftnät for the third cross-border transmission line between the two countries has received a grant worth €4.325 million from the EU for the technical evaluation stage. On 23 January 2019, the CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) Committee for EU infrastructure and transport projects made a decision on the matter based on a proposal by the European Commission.

Through the EU’s CEF financing instrument, a total of €5.35 billion is being granted to projects dealing with the electricity and gas grids and the digital network in the period 2014-2020. In this application round, a total of 14 energy infrastructure projects received €800 million of EU funding.

The intention is to build the third alternating current connection (400 kV) between Finland and Sweden from Pyhänselkä via Keminmaa to Messaure in Sweden. The planned year of completion for the project is 2025. Behind the transmission line project lies the needs of the electricity market for additional capacity between Sweden and Finland. The cross-border transmission capacity between the two countries is often insufficient, resulting in the electricity market not being able to operate efficiently and electricity prices diverging. In an import situation, this results in a price increase for Finnish electricity. Insufficient connections also jeopardise the sufficiency of electricity in Finland in emergencies.

On 23 August 2017, Fingrid and Svenska Kraftnät signed an agreement in principle on constructing a new connection. The project was placed on the EU Commission’s PCI (Projects of Common Interest) list on 23 November 2017. PCI status can be granted to projects that are essential for the EU's internal energy market and reaching the EU's energy policy objectives. The main objective of the EU's energy policy is affordable, secure and sustainably produced energy.

In 2016 Finland, together with Estonia, received a grant of €187.5 million from CEF for the construction of the Balticconnector gas pipeline project.

Further information online:
https://www.fingrid.fi/en/grid/construction/cross-border-connections/third-interconnection-finland--sweden/

More information:

Keijo Välimaa, Fingrid Oyj, tel. +358 (0)30 395 5281
Maria Kekki, TEM, tel. +358 (0)50 454 6820