Russian energy supplier RAONordic Oy accused Finland of not paying past invoices and cut off electricity to Finland early Saturday.
“It should be noted that for volumes sold on the NordPool exchange after May 6th, the funds have not yet been credited to the bank account. This situation is exceptional and has a transaction history of more than 20 years. It happened for the first time in.
“Unfortunately, in the current situation of lack of cash income, RAONordic cannot pay for electricity imported from Russia, which forced us to stop importing electricity from May 14th.” Said RAONordic: Announced May 13..
According to Finnish transmission system operator Fingrid, the country’s electricity supply is not threatened. Russia’s electricity accounts for only about 10 percent of Finland’s total consumption.
Fingrid argued that Finland’s electricity generation, especially wind power, is improving in self-sufficiency. This year, the country is expected to bring another 2,000 MW of new wind power online. By 2023, Finland is expected to become self-sufficient in electricity.
“The shortage of electricity imports from Russia will be offset by importing more electricity from Sweden and producing more electricity in Finland,” said Reima Paivinen, senior vice president of electricity system operations at Fingrid. Said on May 13th. news release..
Russia cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria last month after both countries refused to pay in the ruble. The power cut to Finland occurred shortly before Finnish President Sauli Niinistö officially announced that he would seek NATO membership.
Being a member of the military alliance will “maximize” Finland’s security, Niinistö said at a press conference on Sunday, and he told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about his country’s decision. He added that he spoke.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin called the move to apply for NATO a “significant decision” based on a “strong mission.” A formal application for NATO membership will be submitted shortly.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, Finland has been actively considering the possibility of joining NATO.
Russia will take “retaliation” against Finland if the country joins NATO, Moscow’s Foreign Ministry said on May 12.
“Russia will be forced to take retaliation measures of both military technology and other qualities to thwart the resulting threat to national security,” the ministry said.
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Naveen Athrappully is a news reporter on business and global events in The Epoch Times.