Estlink-2 to undergo maintenance for 2 weeks
The Estlink-2 underwater electricity transmission cable between Estonia and Finland is set to undergo maintenance work for a two week period, starting on Monday. Electricity transmission between the two countries will therefore be limited to the capacity of Estlink-1 during this period, with a lower amount of cheap electricity from Finland available on the Estonian market.
According to Elering spokesperson Elo Ellermaa, plans for the maintenance work were first published last summer, meaning market participants have had plenty of time to factor this in to their electricity generation plans.
"The Estlink undersea cable is an important piece of infrastructure that requires maintenance in the same way as generation facilities do. In order to avoid unexpected failures at a more difficult time for the electricity market than the summer period, they need to be maintained regularly," Ellermaa said.
In recent weeks, electricity prices in the Estonian grid area had been lower than those in Latvia and Lithuania, due to high levels of renewable energy generation in Finland However, over the past few days, prices in the Baltic countries have been the same, reaching €56 per megawatt-hour (MWh) on Saturday, for example, while in Finland, the daily average is €16.5 per MWh.
Estlink-1 and Estlink-2 have a combined capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW). While Estlink-2 undergoes maintenance work, the transnational transmission capacity will drop to 358 MW.
According to Ellermaa, the maintenance period has been chosen to coincide with a time when consumption levels are low and there is more renewable energy in the region, so as to have the least possible impact on electricity consumers.
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Editor: Michael Cole
