Cable links Finnish electric grid with Baltic States
The electric power grids of the Baltic States were linked with the Nordic electricity network, and that of other EU countries on Monday when a new undersea electric cable was inaugurated on both sides of the Gulf of Finland.
Pressing the buttons, in Espoo in Finland, and in Harku in Estonia, were Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade
Paula Lehtomäki (Centre) and Estonian President Toomas Henrik Ilves. The cable stretches a total of 105 kilometres, 75 kilometres of which is on the sea bottom. It has a maximum capacity of 350 megawatts.
The cable and the converter stations at both ends were built by ABB at a cost of EUR 110 million. The main owners of the link are the Estonian Eesti Energia, Latvia’s Latvoenergo, and Lithuania’s Lietuvos Energo. The Finnish share is 10 percent, split between Helsinki Energy and Pohjolan Voima.
At a dual ceremony at both ends, involving a live video satellite link, Eesti Energia CEO Sandor Liive said that the cable allows electricity to travel between Estonia and Finland "without a Russian visa".
The European Commissioner for Energy, Andris Piebalgs also emphasised the importance of electricity for national security.
He sais that all sides in the cable project would benefit: even the consumers would enjoy lower electricity prices, as the cable makes the balancing of peak consumption between various countries economically viable.
Commercial use of the cable begins on Friday. Initially the special EU licence allows it to be used by the electric utilities that own it. By 2013 at the latest, ownership will be shifted to the grid companies of the Baltic States and Finland, opening its use to other enterprises in the business.
At least initially, the flow of electricity will be from south to north, as the Baltic states have more generating capacity than they need. In Finland, Pohjolan Voima estimates that on cold winter days, Finland’s need for electricity will exceed domestic production by about 2,700 megawatts.
Although the new cable will only meet a small proportion of Finland’s need for electricity imports, Pohjolan Voima CEO Timo Rajala feels that it is nevertheless useful.
The Baltic States are expected to need to import electricity in the future. Much depends on the timing of the phasing out of the Soviet-era Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania, and how plans of the three countries for a new common nuclear power plant proceed.
Finns involved in the project emphasise that the cable to Estonia differs significantly from the controversial proposal to build an electricity cable from Russia to Kotka.
Timo Rajala notes that the cable between Finland and Estonia does not involve an increased risk of electricity failures, or impose investments for reserve power.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 5.12.2006 - TODAY |
 Cable links Finnish electric grid with Baltic States
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