Temporary Increase in Electricity Prices Forecasted Due to Market Limitations

The Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, which is operated by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), has experienced an interruption in electricity production due to a fault detected in the turbine plant. TVO announced that the estimated end time for the fault in OL3 is Wednesday at 01 am, and production power is expected to gradually increase after that.

The outage of OL3 has led to Finland’s dependence on imported electricity on Monday morning, with Sweden and Norway’s hydropower making up for the shortfall. The fault came as a surprise, as the plant had been running without problems until then. It is uncertain when production will resume, and the timing depends on the nature of the fault and the repair estimate.

OL3 plays a vital role in stabilizing the price of electricity in Finland, and its importance was highlighted when the country experienced an intensifying frost with no support for wind power. This has led to an increase in spot prices, with hourly prices for Tuesday’s stock electricity yet to be determined at 2 p.m.

The Energy Industry Association’s director responsible for energy market Pekka Salomaa expects that this outage will result in an increase in electricity prices. He stated that it would be challenging to predict how long it would take for OL3 to resume operation correctly, but once it does, it will have a positive impact on price stability.