“Electricity consumption is high and we are still exporting – that’s a new thing during a time of peak consumption,” said the CEO of Finnish Energy.
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Power lines in Liminka, near Oulu (file photo). Image: Esko Jämsä / AOP
Finland’s electricity production set a new record on Saturday evening, according to Jukka Leskelä, Managing Director of the industry group Finnish Energy. In a social media post, he said that generation reached 15,438 megawatts (MW) between 6 and 6:15pm.
According to Leskelä, brisk winds have boosted electricity production even though the demand for electricity is near the all-time due to severe cold through most of the country.
“Electricity consumption is high and we are still exporting – [that’s] a new thing during a time of peak consumption,” Leskelä wrote.
According to the transmission grid company Fingrid, Finland reached its all-time electricity consumption record this week, as usage spiked to 15,553 MW on Thursday evening – just before the country registered its coldest temperature for this winter: -42.8 degrees Celsius.
Fingrid suggested that while demand was driven up by the freezing temperatures, moderate electricity prices also contributed to the record as consumers did not hold back on consumption for fear of high utility bills.
On Sunday afternoon, Finland narrowly remained a net exporter of electricity, according to Fingrid, with production and consumption both around 13,000. The average spot price remained moderate at about 11.80 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Two years ago, the country briefly recorded its highest-ever spot price of 2.35 euros per kilowatt-hour on 5 January 2024.
Last year, consumers in Finland enjoyed the third-cheapest electricity in Europe.
In the first nine months of last year, total electricity consumption in Finland rose by one percent from the corresponding period of 2024. However, overall energy consumption in January to September fell by the same margin, with consumption of fossil fuels and peat dropping by nine percent.
Last year, close to half of all energy consumption was provided by renewable energy sources.
In 2025, just over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity was installed, increasing the total capacity to almost 9,500 MW. Meanwhile industrial solar power capacity more than doubled to 352 MW.
In 2024, 95 percent of Finland’s electricity production was based on fossil-free energy, according to Statistics Finland. Wind power overtook hydropower as the second biggest mode of electricity production, covering 37 percent of consumption – just behind nuclear power’s 38 percent.