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Russian state-owned utility Inter RAO has stopped exporting electricity to Finland after the company’s Finnish subsidiary announced it has not been paid.
In a statement, RAO Nordic said the volumes sold on the Nord Pool exchange “have not been credited” for deliveries since 6th May 2022, citing the situation as “exceptional”.
The news comes after Russia threatened to take “retaliatory steps” after Finnish leaders announced plans to join NATO.
Electricity imports to Finland were halted from 1am local time on Saturday, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid.
RAO Nordic stated: “This situation is exceptional and happened for the first time in over twenty years of our trading history.
“Unfortunately, in the current situation of lack of cash income, RAO Nordic is not able to make payments for the imported electricity from Russia. Therefore we are forced to suspend the electricity import starting from 14th of May.
“We hope that the situation will get improved soon and the electricity trade with Russia could resume.”
In recent times, electricity imports from Russia have covered around 10% of Finland’s total consumption.
Fingrid added it does not expect electricity shortages following RAO Nordic’s decision.
Reima Päivinen, Senior Vice President of Power System Operations at Fingrid said: “The lack of electricity import from Russia will be compensated by importing more electricity from Sweden and by generating more electricity in Finland.”
