The security of supply of electricity is ensured, but the situation in the system is tense

The situation in the electricity systems of the Nordics and the Baltics has become tense in the last few days, but there is still enough capacity to cover the consumption of electricity in the region.

“Elering’s objective is to ensure that the lights are on, homes are kept warm, and to ensure the functioning of the system even when there are disruptions on the market,” said Taavi Veskimägi, Chairman of the Management Board of Elering. “If the electricity market is unable to cover the consumption of electricity in a situation where the system is under pressure, it is possible to use strategic reserves and emergency capacities that are at the disposal of system operators and are not in everyday use on the electricity market in order to ensure security of supply in the region,” he explained.

Strategic reserves can be put into use in Finland and Sweden. In Finland, the capacity of the strategic reserve is 611 megawatts, with 562 megawatts in Sweden, respectively. The Baltics have 750-850 megawatts of emergency reserves for coping with potential accidents and emergencies that may occur in the electrical system.

Since the situation in the electrical system is similar in the entire region, the cooperation of system operators is essential. According to Veskimägi, the primary objective of system operators is to ensure the functioning of cross-border connections in order to ensure the power supply of consumers and, where necessary, use the reserve capacities located in neighbouring countries.

The situation in the electrical system of the Baltics is affected by stoppages in several electricity production units for various reasons. As of Monday, Estonia had two oil shale units either fully or partially not in operation, and one power plant in Latvia and one in Lithuania were also out of service. The production capacity of the aforesaid four units is approximately 1,300 megawatts. Usually, at least three of these production capacities have been operational. In the second half of December, the generating installations of the power plants currently under maintenance should become operational again, and it could alleviate the situation.

Monday afternoon, the consumption of electricity in the transmission network peaked at 1,500 megawatts. The all-time high of consumption is 1,587 megawatts.