The high-voltage network is currently being built at a record pace in Finland.
Designing and building electricity networks is the job of engineers. The outcomes are the arteries of Finnish society, carrying energy to where it is needed and keeping society, business, and citizens’ livelihoods running.
Conversely, the attorney’s tool is the law. “The country shall be built on laws” is an old principle based on Roman justice, but it is the foundation of modern states governed by the rule of law. However, a lawyer working on drafting laws will inevitably come upon the question, ‘How should the country be built?’
In the spring, I was tasked with leading a government programme project to strengthen the functionality and adequacy of the electricity transmission network as the basis for the energy transition and as one of Finland’s key competitive advantages. The government programme contains several statements that specify this objective.
To facilitate investments, the need for electricity to be transmitted to nationally important industrial hubs and reasonable electricity transmission costs will be ensured. To reduce the need to build new sections of the main grid and decrease the effect of bottlenecks, major investments that consume and produce electricity will be encouraged to be sited in close proximity so they do not require main grid connections. The amendment to the Electricity Market Act enables a distribution system operator to consolidate the connecting lines to wind turbines.
In addition, the government is examining whether to expand Fingrid’s remit to encompass the construction of transmission grids in urban areas to serve the energy transition.
Ensuring that Finland remains a single bidding zone is also essential.
Smoothly integrating the rapidly growing volumes of electricity consumption and production into electricity networks demands a reassessment of the responsibilities involved in connecting to the main grid and high-voltage distribution network, the network operators’ obligation to develop their systems, and the network permit regulations—at least in part.
Rising electricity production and the entry of renewable hydrogen into the market will create a need to facilitate the construction of separate lines and hybrid connections covering production, consumption and storage. The Electricity Market Act also takes into account offshore wind power in the exclusive economic zone.
We are accustomed to having an efficient and reliable main grid in Finland without internal bottlenecks. However, the rapid electrification of society and industrial investment plans already pose a major challenge to the development of the power system.
The high-voltage network project aims to secure the construction of the electricity transmission networks required for important industrial investments, rapidly increasing renewable electricity production, and the electrification of district heating. Ensuring that Finland remains a single bidding zone is also essential.
The government programme sets the targets for the drafting work, but the drafters and working groups still have plenty of things to work out before it becomes clear how high-voltage networks will be built in the future.
Arto Rajala
Ministerial Counsellor
Energy department/Energy market
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
