By Odd Gunnar Jakobsen, Olav Johan Botnen, and Katinka Bogaard
The Finnish spot price has soared to €228/MWh, a significant increase compared to the system price (€94/MWh) and other Nordic area prices. At the same time, spot area prices for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are also elevated, reaching €222/MWh.
Finland is forecasted to experience very cold weather, with temperatures falling as low as 20 degrees below zero in Helsinki. In such conditions, the demand for electricity in the heating sector rises significantly. This is especially true when the temperature drops to a level where additional electric heating is required to compensate for insufficient supplies from district heating systems and heat pumps.
Adding to the challenges, the Meri-Pori coal-fired power plant (565 MW) is reported to be out of operation until 3 pm. This outage is a key factor contributing to the high Finnish spot price.
