The EstLink 2 electricity interconnector between Finland and Estonia returns to commercial operation

The repair work on the EstLink 2 electricity transmission link between Finland and Estonia, which failed in January, has progressed as planned and the link is expected to return to commercial operation on Wednesday 4 September.   

The repair work on the second electricity transmission link between Finland and Estonia has been completed and the link is expected to return to commercial operation on Wednesday. The EstLink 2 electricity interconnector has been out of service since the end of January due to a fault.   

The repair work has been carried out in close cooperation with Fingrid, the Estonian transmission system operator Elering and the cable manufacturer. The failure site of the EstLink 2 link has been a challenge for the repair work. The damaged part of the cable has been replaced with a new submarine cable over 300 meters.   

Tests to ensure that the cable connection works started on Monday and will continue until Tuesday. The cable will be back in commercial use from Wednesday. Once the repairs are completed, Fingrid will still have to limit electricity export capacity to Estonia for the next few days due to construction work on a substation in southern Finland. 

"The repair operation on the Estonian coast has gone very well led by Elering, despite the exceptional complexity of the repair. The repair was carried out on a temporary 400 square metre repair platform built on a dry seabed. This innovative solution allowed us to ensure the repair schedule and to save spare cable," said Kimmo Nepola, Head of Unit. 
 
The EstLink 2 connection failed on Friday 26.1.2024 at 00:10. The failure area was quickly located on the Estonian coast. The exact location of the fault was found in early March, after which repair work has continued uninterrupted until early autumn. The failure of the electricity transmission link has not affected the functioning of the electricity system in Finland, but it temporarily reduced the electricity transmission capacity between the two countries by 650 megawatts. 

More information
Kimmo Nepola, Head of Unit, Fingrid, tel. +358 50 590 3850


Photo: Elering