Not a day goes by that we do not wish that the problems experienced in other countries existed in our country. In Finland, one of these countries, so much electricity was produced from renewable sources that the price of electricity fell below 0. However, this does not mean that subscribers will be paid as you might think.
While Europe was on the verge of a major energy crisis, the Northern European country Finland had initiated a renewable energy-oriented transformation process in recent years. Along with windmills and hydroelectric power plants that benefit from water currents; energy production in the country reached its peak. In fact, it was produced so much that the Finns, because of this abundance, slightly expensive electricity for free they started using it.
At this point, Finnish authorities are considering closing the facilities that produce electricity with non-renewable resources and providing electricity consumption from stored energy. In other words, hydroelectric power plants will continue to operate because they cannot stop the flow in the water, but thermal and nuclear power plants, due to excess production and is about to be temporarily closed.
How much is electricity in Finland, how much is the price difference with Türkiye?
Electricity price in Finland 0.4 euro per household per 1 kWh, at the level of 0.18 euros for workplaces. These numbers may sound high when you convert them to TL at the current exchange rate, but we need to think about the prices in question in terms of the unit used by the country.
In Turkey 1 kWh electricity price starts from 1.48 TL, if the monthly total consumption is over 240 kWh, this figure rises to 2.22 TL. In other words, electricity is the cheapest 1.48 units in our country, while it is 0.4 units in Finland. Also, the average monthly income in Finland is 3807 euros (Trading Economy).
How did electricity prices drop so much in Finland?
According to sources, there are two different reasons for this. Due to the Russia-Ukraine War, the Finnish people decided to save by limiting their electricity consumption. The other reason is the renewable energy-oriented transformation in the country. The hydroelectric power plants built in the country, the increased water flow due to the fact that we are in the first spring months, enabled the hydroelectric power plants to produce at high capacity.
Subscribers in Finland, whose electricity price has fallen negative, will continue to pay bills: Why?
Jukka Ruusunen, CEO of Fingrid, the company that manages the country’s national electricity distribution grid, said instead of citizens’ raw prices turning negative. that they pay at the predetermined market price states. The income obtained from here is not to meet the electrical energy itself, distribution and organization costs is paid for. In a way, you can think of it like fixed taxes and payments reflected on invoices in Turkey.
“Last winter people were talking about where to get more electricity. We are now discussing how to limit production. We are transitioning from one challenge to the next.”
Continuing his statements by stating that they are faced with the problem of limiting electricity production, Ruusunen said that until 2035 all energy sources will be renewable reminded. However, it is said that this may be possible in 2027 in the country.
Ruusunen said that hydroelectric power plants produced excessively due to the unexpected water activity in the spring, and they could not limit this production because they could not stop the water flow; remove unprofitable lines of production from the market states that they are planning. For this reason, the production of non-renewable resources, including the new nuclear power plant operating in the country, may be temporarily stopped.