The next few days will be tense for the electricity system of the Baltic Sea region

According to the analysis of the system operators of the Nordics and the Baltics, the next few days will be tense for the electricity system of the region. While this will likely result in higher electricity prices, system operators see no need to limit the volume of consumption.

The tense situation in the electricity system of the region has mainly been caused due to the simultaneous malfunction in several major production capacities above all in the Nordics, but also in the Baltics. Furthermore, production capacity is affected by the sharp decrease in the production of wind farms. Meanwhile, the consumption of electricity continues at a normal winter level.

When facing disturbances on the electricity market, system operators are able to use various reserves in order to ensure the stability of electricity systems. Consumers can contribute by reducing their electricity consumption at peak hours. In Estonia, the consumption of electricity is the highest in the morning from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and in the afternoon from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Elering’s security of supply report, published last week, and the earlier analysis of the system capacity of the Baltic Sea countries indicated that even though there are sufficient production capacities for covering peak consumption in the winter, the risks have grown due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting local energy crisis in that particular region. This means that issues may arise with security of supply when several events with a negative impact occur at the same time. These circumstances include adverse wind conditions in the Baltic Sea countries, as well as numerous simultaneous malfunctions in production capacities.