Finland recorded a brief fall in electricity prices yesterday, with the price floor reaching negative throughout the day before climbing back up in the evening.
Finnish grid operator Fingrid announced the price dip, with CEO Jukka Ruusunen telling national broadcaster Yle the figures were a "historic" moment in the country's energy sector.
"The average price for the day is now slightly, but nevertheless, on the negative side," he said.
Normally, negative energy prices occur at night for shorter periods of time, but the trend on Wednesday reflected more on Finland's massive power surplus thanks to renewable energy production.
Hydroelectric production credited for energy surplus
Finland and the other Nordic countries experienced an abundance of snow and ice that melted into the water after winter. Ruusunen noted there was a massive volume of meltwater created during the spring that hydroelectric plants were "forced" to produce energy.
"Due to the huge amount of water, hydropower often has a poor capacity to regulate in spring," he said.
Aside from hydroelectricity, the energy created by nuclear reactors and wind and solar farms contributed to the spring overproduction, which was in stark contrast to the grid's underperformance during the winter.
Ruusunen described Finland's energy production situation as having "gone from one extreme to another."
Energy surplus produced sustainably: Ruusunen
Finns were forced to cut down on their electricity use last winter. But because of Fingrid's spring energy surplus from renewable sources, the country's electric future has become more sustainable. However, Ruusunen pointed out that non-profitable energy, such as hydroelectricity, was usually removed from the market.
He said the national grid had to cut down nuclear energy production to compensate for the overproduction of its hydroelectric facilities.
Either way, Ruusunen interpreted the current electricity situation in Finland as a win-win for consumers.
"Now there is enough electricity, and it is almost emission-free. So you can feel good about using electricity," he said.
Finland's energy self-sufficiency goals fuelled by Russian aggression
Ruusunen explained that Finland's progress toward energy self-sufficiency is important for investment in the green transition, saying the prospects of producing cleaner energy "look great."
The country's step towards self-sufficiency was hugely influenced by the aggression of its neighbor - Russia.
Finland decided to ban Russian energy imports as part of the global sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
While it faced a short-term energy crisis, the recent activation of Olkiluoto 3, the country's newest nuclear reactor, provided a promising future for Fingrid.
The addition of Olkiluoto 3 brought the price of electricity in Finland down by 75%, from €245.98 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in December 2022 to €60.55 per MWh in April.
Ruusunen stated the country also aims to aggressively hit its 2035 carbon neutrality target by making wind energy its primary power source by 2027.
