Fingrid: This is how much it costs to repair a cable break

The repair of the broken Estlink 2 electricity transmission cable between Finland and Estonia is estimated to cost more than 30 million euros.

The electricity distribution network company informs about the matter Fingrid’s control room manager Arto Pahkin.

Most of the costs of the repair depend on what time and with what configuration the repairs are made. The material, i.e. the actual cable, exists, but according to Pahkin, a specialized ship and a special crew are needed for the repair work.

“Personnel and equipment are in great demand around the world,” says Pahkin.

For this reason, the current repair estimate for repairing the electricity transmission connection is seven months. The work itself will take a few weeks, once the equipment has been brought to the site.

“Next week there will be a more accurate estimate of the schedule,” says Pahkin.

During the repair work, the cable is wound on the deck of the ship, always a short length, after which the part is repaired and lowered back into the sea. According to Pahkin’s estimate, there is “some hundred meters” of cable to be replaced.

The worst fault must endure

Estlink 2 also incurs costs in other ways.

Pahkin says that Estlink 2 is very important for Finland, Estonia and the entire electricity market. When the transmission connection does not work, the price of exchange electricity may rise in Finland or Estonia.

“The price of electricity can jump quite high in certain situations,” says Pahkin.

Director responsible for the operations of Fingrid’s electricity system Tuomas Rauhala says that in the peak situations of winter electricity use, cross-border transmission connections have been important. In terms of capacity, Estlink 2 is still among the three largest transmission connections in Finland.

“In addition to imports from the Baltics, the connection has also been used at times as a transit route for electricity imported from southern Sweden and further afield. This way, the effect can be even stronger,” says Rauhala.

He points out that the absence of Estlink 2 can also be reflected in the electricity market in lower prices than usual, if there is an ample supply of electricity. This is due to the fact that excess supply cannot be sold in the normal way to the Baltics, which is typically a region with higher electricity prices than Finland.

A significant price

Fingrid’s director Tuomas Rauhala says that the cost of repairing the cable will be split between Finland and Estonia. He considers the repair estimate worth tens of millions of euros to be significant.

“When the cable was acquired, it cost almost 200 million euros. So we are talking about a level of more than 10 percent in the value of the repair. However, for the price, you would acquire a large power station built on land in its entirety,” says Rauhala.

Prime minister Petteri Orpo (kok) assured on Thursday that maintenance reliability is good in Finland. Fingrid’s control room manager Arto Pahkin says that there will be enough electricity if there are no more major breakdowns or if there are no disruptions to large power plants.

“We should always endure the one worst failure,” says Pahkin.

Edited on December 27, 2024 at 1:21 p.m.: Added comments from Fingrid’s Tuomas Rauhala.