22 Apr 2022 18:40

Finland to reduce capacity to import electricity from Russia by third starting on Sunday

MOSCOW. April 22 (Interfax) - Finnish grid company Fingrid will limit capacity in cross-border interconnections with Russia starting Sunday, reducing import capacity from 1,300 MW to 900 MW, the company said in a statement.

Export capacity from Finland to Russia will remain at 320 MW.

"The decision is based on an assessment of risks to the power system in a changing international environment," Fingrid said.

This is necessary to ensure the safety of Finland's power system, the statement said.

The only electricity export-import operator in Russia is PJSC Inter RAO . Finland is the company's main export market. In 2021, Finland accounted for 8.2 billion kWh of Inter RAO's total exports of 21.77 billion kWh.

Finland might have imported 7.2 billion kWh of electricity from Russia in 2022, going by current electricity prices. Some Finnish politicians are in favor of stopping all energy imports from Russia, Norway's Montel writes.

An Inter RAO spokesperson declined to comment.