Title: Estonia‘s Electricity Grid: "Elering" Activated Reserves Amid "Estlink 2" Disruptions
Estonia’s electricity transmission system operator, "Elering," confirms that it will use reserves this coming Thursday, December 27, to compensate for potential power shortages in Estonia, which were supposed to be supplied via the "Estlink 2" electricity interconnection with Finland. If issues persist, "Estlink 2" will be replaced by local generation facilities starting from Friday, December 28.
The disruptions, initially reported by Finnish broadcasting company "Yle," may have been caused by vandalism, although the cause remains unconfirmed. The incident occurred on December 25, with Finnish Interior Minister Petteri Orpo confirming the outage and ensuring that it did not affect electricity supply in Finland.
Background
The "Estlink 2" cable, which connects Estonia and Finland, was previously shut down in January due to similar issues. Repair works lasted until the beginning of September, costing over 30 million euros. During the outage, electricity prices in Estonia surged by 10%, with consumers paying approximately 18 euros more per megawatt-hour.
The disruptions were attributed to a internal short-circuit in the cable, possibly resulting from its complex layout. "Elering" announced in September that it planned to complete a detailed investigation into the cause of the cable failure by the end of the year.
About "Estlink 2"
The "Estlink 2" interconnection consists of converter stations in Estonia and Finland, along with a 170-kilometer-long high-voltage direct current (HVDC) overhead line. The Estonian section includes a 12-kilometer-long underground cable, while the Finnish segment stretches 147 kilometers underwater and 14 kilometers over land. The line has a capacity of 650 megawatts, compared to the 350 megawatts of the older "Estlink 1" connection.
Follow our updates for the latest on Estonia’s electricity grid and the "Estlink 2" cable.
