Electricity prices - Finland

⚡ Finland’s Energy Market Overview

Finland is quietly leading a clean energy revolution. Between 2023 and 2025, the country has transformed its power sector into one of the most sustainable and innovative in Europe. Let’s break down what’s happening and why it matters—for households, businesses, and the planet.

🔋 Where Does Finland’s Electricity Come From?

By 2023, Finland became 98% self-sufficient in electricity production. Here’s how the power mix looks:

• Nuclear: ~42% of all electricity. The new Olkiluoto 3 reactor made a big impact.
• Hydropower: ~19%, boosted by a wet year and providing stable renewable energy.
• Wind: ~20–24%, and still growing fast—wind farms are popping up nationwide.
• Bioenergy: Around 10–15%, mostly from the forest industry.
• Solar: Small (~1%) but growing rapidly (83% growth in 2023 alone).
• Fossil fuels: Less than 8% and shrinking fast—coal is nearly gone.

✅ Over 94% of Finland’s electricity in 2023 was fossil-free.

🌱 The Role of Renewables

Finland is ahead of its climate targets, already getting 52% of electricity from renewables—a mix of wind, hydro, solar, and bioenergy.

• Wind has been the star: capacity doubled in 3 years, and offshore wind is next.
• Hydro continues to balance the grid.
• Bioenergy is strong but slowly giving way to wind and solar.
• Solar is growing fast with over 1 GW installed, despite limited winter sun.

🎯 Finland is on track for carbon neutrality by 2035. Coal-fired power will be fully banned by 2029, but is being phased out even faster in practice.

💶 How Are Electricity Prices Formed?

Finnish electricity bills are made up of three parts:

1. Energy cost – what you pay your electricity supplier. This can be fixed or dynamic.
2. Distribution fee – charged by your local grid company (you can’t choose this).
3. Taxes – a consumption tax (~2.25 c/kWh) + VAT (now 25.5%).

📊 On average, taxes and delivery fees make up about 1/3 of your total bill.

🔄 Dynamic Tariffs: Real-Time Pricing for Real People

Thanks to nationwide smart meters, Finnish homes and businesses can opt into spot-based pricing—a contract where the rate changes every hour based on the Nord Pool market.

• Benefits: Lower long-term cost, flexibility to shift usage, more transparency.
• Risks: Exposure to price spikes during peak demand.
• Who’s using it? As of 2025, about 1 in 3 Finnish households has a dynamic pricing contract.

🔌 Want to save money? Run your dishwasher or charge your EV when prices are low—like at night or during windy hours.

🏢 Who Offers Dynamic Pricing in Finland?

Here are some major providers offering hourly-priced electricity:

✅ Almost every electricity supplier in Finland now offers spot-based plans—competition is strong, and tools to track prices are plentiful.

🚀 The Future Is Green and Smart

Finland’s energy journey shows what’s possible with strong policy, smart tech, and consumer engagement. The grid is nearly fossil-free, customers can choose how and when to use power, and real-time pricing makes the system more efficient for everyone.

Whether you’re a homeowner, EV driver, or a small business, now’s the time to explore dynamic electricity contracts and start saving smarter.

Peak and Off-Peak Hours

Finland 2024 – Average Hourly Wholesale Electricity Price (Nord Pool)

What the daily profile tells us

A classic “double‑hump” load curve

The shape you see (often called a camel curve) is typical for electricity systems in temperate climates:

1. Morning ramp‑up (≈ 07:00 – 11:00)

   • Offices, factories and schools start, electric heating is still running, and there is little solar generation in winter months.
   • Demand pushes the 10:00 spot price to €0.0815 / kWh, roughly 2.5 × the cheapest hour.

2. Mid‑day softening (≈ 11:00 – 15:00)

   • Commercial activity stabilises and, in the sunnier half of the year, rooftop and utility‑scale PV add supply.
   • Prices dip to the mid‑€0.06 range but stay above the overnight trough.

3. Evening peak (≈ 18:00 – 21:00)

   • People arrive home, cook, do laundry, charge EVs and turn on lights, while solar output falls to zero.
   • The second peak at 20:00 hits €0.0729 / kWh — lower than the morning record but still \~30 % above the daily mean.

4. Late‑night lull (≈ 22:00 – 06:00)

   • Industrial demand is lower, residential demand winds down, and wind production is often higher.
   • The cheapest hours (1‑6 h and after 23 h) sit around €0.033 – 0.046 / kWh.

Why the morning peak is slightly higher than the evening one

• Heating load: In Finland’s long heating season, electric resistance heaters and heat pumps kick in hardest just before midday when outside temperatures may still be low but solar is insufficient.
• Industrial cadence: Many heavy‑industry processes start early and stabilise by the afternoon, flattening the evening demand spike.
• Imports/exports & congestion: Nordic hydro scheduling often covers the evening ramp better than the sharp morning surge, keeping the 19‑20 h price a little lower.

Practical take‑aways for consumers

• Shift flexible loads (dish‑washers, EV charging, electric water heaters) to after 22 h or before 7 h to cut costs by up to 60 %.
• If night‑time isn’t an option, mid‑afternoon (14‑17 h) is usually cheaper than the two peaks.
• Time‑of‑use retail contracts or smart‑home automation can monetise these wholesale spreads.

(Remember: retail tariffs include grid fees, taxes and supplier margins, so the absolute cents/kWh differ, but the intraday pattern is very similar.)