- Gasgrid Finland said on Tuesday that gas supply was close to its technical limit and urged market participants to monitor consumption.
According to Montel News article published on December 13, 2022, cold weather had seen a doubling of gas consumption from around 20-25 GWh/day during autumn to 45-50 GWh/day this month, the TSO added in a statement.
The country could import a maximum of 55 GWh/day through the Balticconnector pipeline with Estonia and 4.8 GWh/day from the small Hamina LNG terminal that opened this autumn, said Gasgrid Finland, underlining the severity of the situation.
The squeeze came amid curtailed flows from Russia due to heightened tensions amid the war in Ukraine, with the former typically supplying Finland with up to 220 GWh/day.
Easing supply squeeze
However, the supply situation should ease when a new floating LNG terminal was opened at the port of Inkoo later this month, which would nearly double available capacity to 110 GWh/day, said Olli Sipila, CEO of Gasgrid Finland.
Finnish gas demand peaked at 178 GWh/day in 2021 but has dropped significantly since supplies from Russia were cut earlier this year, as industrials have moved to alternative fuels.
Finnish gas spot prices for Wednesday delivery settled at EUR 152.50/MWh on the Get Baltic exchange, while day-ahead power on Nord Pool out-turned at EUR 444.59/MWh, its highest since 30 August.
Energy commodities have skyrocketed since the beginning of the war, buoyed by gas scarcity.
