Repair Works on the Estonia–Finland Power Link EstLink 2 to Begin in May
Repair works on the EstLink 2 electricity interconnection between Estonia and Finland will begin in May. According to the current plan, the link is expected to be back in operation and available to the market from 15 July 2025.
Preparatory Works for Repairing the Damaged Submarine Cable Section Took Place from February to April
From February to April, preparatory works were carried out to repair the damaged section of the EstLink 2 submarine cable. During this phase, the damaged cable segment was lifted from the seabed and removed. The remaining section of the submarine cable was tested to ensure it was intact. The goal of the preparatory works was to minimize the risks associated with the main repair operations starting in May and to further specify the technical details of the work.
During the repair works, the damaged section will be replaced with a new submarine cable, to be laid on the seabed over a distance of approximately one kilometre. The repairs will utilize previously manufactured and delivered spare cable and repair joints.
Carrying out works of this scale requires thorough planning and a specially equipped repair vessel. The repair operations have been carefully prepared over the winter in close cooperation with the cable manufacturer Nexans.
The total cost of the EstLink 2 repair is expected to be between €50–60 million, to be shared equally by the system operators Elering and Fingrid. Elering will use congestion revenue to cover its share of the costs — a funding mechanism specifically intended to maintain and increase cross-border transmission capacity.
One factor influencing the cost is the use of a general-purpose construction vessel owned by a third party, instead of a dedicated cable-laying ship, in order to expedite the repair timeline. This vessel requires specific preparation to suit the technical characteristics of the EstLink 2 cable. If a dedicated repair vessel had been used, the work would likely have been delayed until the end of the year.
The electricity link will return to market operation after the completion of the repair and successful testing.
EstLink 2 was shut down due to an incident on 25 December 2024, when it was damaged by a ship’s anchor.