A country with a serious shortage of electricity suddenly has an excess of electricity: People are comfortable using electricity, and manufacturers are miserable

Business Insider reported that while much of Europe is facing an energy crisis, the Nordic country announced that its electricity price has dropped below zero.

In fact, not Finns will get free electricity, they have to pay an agreement fee to use electricity.

The drop in electricity prices was due to an unexpected surplus of renewable energy supplies, in tandem with the Finns who have cut their energy use because of the energy crisis that is raging across Europe.

” Now, [Finland] has enough electricity and almost zero emissions ,” said Jukka Ruusunen, CEO of grid operator Fingrid, adding that Finns can “feel comfortable using it.” electricity”.

From lack of electricity to surplus in just a few months

This news is a remarkable turning point for a country where just a few months ago the government was trying to urge people to save electricity.

“Last winter, the only thing people discussed was where to get the extra electricity. Now we’re working on how to limit production. We’ve gone from one extreme to another.” Ruusunen shared.

In the wake of the Europe-wide energy crisis, in April, the Netherlands put a new nuclear reactor into operation and provided a significant new source of energy for a population of about 5.5 million people.

Olkiluoto 3, the first new nuclear reactor inaugurated in Europe in more than 15 years, has reduced the price of electricity in Finland by 75%, from 245.98 euros/MWh to 60.55 euros/MWh, according to The National.

The country aims to be carbon neutral by 2035 and is promoting renewable energy solutions. Ruusunen told National that Finland wants to make wind its main source of energy by 2027.

Manufacturer loss

In addition, rapidly melting ice, which has triggered flood warnings in several Nordic countries, is pushing Finland’s hydroelectric power plants into overdrive, resulting in abundant electricity.

“During spring floods, there is often a forced production situation like this because production cannot be slowed down. Due to the large amount of water, hydropower plants are often poorly regulated in the spring,” Ruusunen said. .

According to The Guardian, not only the Netherlands but also a number of other European countries have also recorded excess electricity.

“Countries like Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden are experiencing zero or negative electricity prices due to overproduction…”, said energy analyst Gerard Reid.

According to him, the drop in electricity prices to zero or negative in Northern Europe is due to significant snowmelt in Norway, Sweden and Finland, which provides a large source of fuel for hydroelectric turbines and generates large amounts of electricity.

Agreeing with Reid, meteorologist Theo Gkousarov added that recent warm weather conditions have led to negative electricity prices.

“The area of ​​high pressure that prevails over much of central and northwest Europe has resulted in a sharp increase in solar power generation capacity across the region.”

However, the situation of low electricity prices makes it difficult for energy operators when the output price is below the cost of production.

” Production that is not profitable at this price is often removed from the market,” said Ruusunen.