Happy new energy year

Happy new energy year.

The traffic lights in the HattiWatt electricity price watch have been glowing green over the past few days. Electricity has been cheaper than it was a month ago, partly because the weather has been favorable for wind power production. Mild and windy conditions have fed more megawatts into the grid than a typical cold winter day. Warm weather has been visible in the market price: supply has been high and demand lower.

Finland has had enough electricity even for exports to Sweden and Estonia. The trial run of Olkiluoto 3 continued from late December into early January, which has also helped supply. Recent days have been historic: wind power production has momentarily exceeded nuclear power production. Still, it is clear that electricity adequacy remains uncertain. Consumption and production must stay in balance, otherwise spot prices can fluctuate sharply.

There are still several winter months ahead, and the weather can turn colder quickly. Lower prices can reverse just as quickly if energy weather worsens, the wind calms and frost tightens. Electricity use depends strongly on outdoor temperature. Consumption is usually highest during January and February cold spells, when homes and properties need more heating.

For future electricity prices, it matters how well Finnish and Swedish nuclear power plants can produce according to their net capacity. Maintenance interruptions related to the commissioning of Olkiluoto 3 during the most critical winter period have added uncertainty to prices. The plant has now been brought into a planned cold shutdown and the feedwater pump impellers are being inspected. From the beginning of February the plant is expected to run mostly at full power, with regular production starting in early March. Olkiluoto 3 has a net output of 1,600 megawatts.

Demand flexibility has shown its importance for electricity adequacy and price during the winter. Saving electricity and smoothing consumption peaks have shown that there are ways to manage risks caused by uncertainty. HattiWatt was created for exactly this purpose. Have you already downloaded the app from your app store? The app makes it easy to see hourly electricity prices. Continued electricity savings by consumers are important for securing supply.

The #astettaalemmas campaign is a shared government energy-saving campaign. It has offered concrete tips for saving energy and cutting peak electricity use at home, at work and in transport. Energy actions, especially by companies, have helped make demand flexibility possible. Shifting electricity use outside weekday morning and afternoon peak hours significantly improves adequacy. During peak consumption, a reduction of about 10 percent in electricity use corresponds almost to the production capacity of Olkiluoto 3.

With HattiWatt's spot-price watch, it is easy to follow price changes and take part in the campaign. HattiWatt already has thousands of happy users on both iPhone and Android. You are warmly welcome to join the HattiWatt electricity-saving crew.

Wishing you a happy and energetic 2023, Maria and @HattiWattapp