Finland electricity rates five times more than Sweden

Current electricity rates in Sweden cost a fraction of those in Finland, according to a recent YLE report.

Officials say that Sweden is seeing some of its lowest electricity rates in more than 20 years thanks to high rainfall levels seen over the summer alongside the massive capacity of regional hydroelectric plants.

As a result, around a third of Finland’s electricity is currently being imported from the Swedish border. Friday’s official average rates were 1.6 euro cents in Sweden and four cents in Finland.

Experts say that Finland has been unable to benefit from the wet summer because it lacks the dramatic topography found in Sweden and Norway that enables the neighbouring nations to take advantage of hydroelectric production methods.

Pekka Salomaa said on behalf of the Finnish Energy Industries Association, “There is just not the same energy as in Norway where the water falls half a kilometre through numerous basins,” the YLE news agency reports.

Salomaa said that although it’s difficult to predict what will happen to prices next year, it is likely that the disparity between Finland and Sweden is likely be reduced significantly in the autumn.