Svenska Kraftnät, Sweden's state-owned power grid operator, admits that in order to secure cheap electricity for its domestic clients the company used a rapidly expedited ruling to cut off exports of electricity to Finland in December, the Finnish daily Turun Sanomat reports in its Friday issue.
Kraftnät was under a threat of extensive losses itself due to a price peak. To prevent a sharp increase in price in Sweden and to escape immediate losses, the company decided - against all the rules of free competition - to cut off exports to Finland on December 8th, 2005.
"We wanted to use capacity from Northern Sweden to secure lower electricity prices in the south of the country as well", explains Kraftnät production manager Mikael Engwall.
As a result of the interruption, the exchange price of electricity leapt up thirty-fold in Finland. The interruption also caused a squabble between the energy ministers of the two countries.
