Russia cuts off Finland’s electricity

Energy company Russia said it had not received payment for previous power supplies, the BBC reported.

The Finnish grid operator informed that Russia only provides a small percentage of the country’s electricity and Finland can find alternative sources.

On May 12, Russia announced that it would take retaliatory actions after Finland announced its plan to join NATO.

Finland shares a 1,300 km long border with Russia. Since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine, Finnish public support for joining NATO has grown.

Finland is expected to officially announce its plan to join NATO on May 15.

“This situation is unique and happens for the first time in more than 20 years of our trading history,” said Rao Nordic, the Russian state-owned company.

Neither Rao Nordic nor the Finnish grid operator, Fingrid, specifically explained what the billing problem was.

Last month, Russia cut gas to Bulgaria and Poland after refusing to comply with a demand for payment in rubles, a change contrary to Western sanctions.

This week, Russia’s Gazprom announced it would stop supplying gas to Poland from the Yamal-Europe pipeline.

Fingrid is not expected to create an electricity shortage due to Russia’s supply cuts as only about 10% of Finland’s electricity is supplied by its neighbour.

“The lack of electricity imports from Russia will be offset by importing more electricity from Sweden and producing more electricity in Finland,” said Reima Päivinen, Senior Vice President of Power System Operations at Fingrid. .

Energy demand in Finland is also falling as the weather warms, while a large amount of additional wind power is expected to come online. A new nuclear power plant, scheduled to come online this summer, will make up for lost supply from Russia.