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News » Energy Year 2008 ELECTRICITY

Energy Year 2008 ELECTRICITY

Finnish Energy Industries
Press Release
For publication 22 January 2009 10 a.m.

Energy Year 2008 - ELECTRICITY

Electricity consumption down by 3.8 percent
- decline accelerated towards the end of the year
- industrial power requirement down by 7.1 percent
- other than industrial consumption unchanged

Carbon dioxide emissions from power generation reduced

The year 2008 was exceptional in terms of electricity. The economic recession reduced the industrial power requirement, and this was particularly evident in the forest industry sector that is a high power consumer. Industrial output and power requirement declined at an increasing rate towards the end of the year. However, last year's trend was not uniform. Other than industrial power remained at the previous year’s level, and adjusted for temperature, it rose by 1.2 percent, as shown by the Energy Year 2008 report issued by Finnish Energy Industries.

Last year was mild and rainy. It was the sixth warmest year in the history of recording temperatures. Hydropower had an all-time record production year. Due to increased generation capacity, wind power grew by almost 40 percent. There was a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from power generation for a second year running. Combined heat and power generation remained unchanged in spite of the warm weather conditions.

Across the whole country, the mean temperature was 1-2 degrees higher than average, in southern parts of the country more than two degrees warmer in some places. The year was rainy, and local annual rainfall records were broken in various parts of Finland.

Last year, Finland consumed 86.9 billion kilowatt hours (terawatt hours, TWh) of electricity; the decline from 2007 was 3.5 TWh or 3.8 percent. The drop was the greatest since the war years. In peacetime, electricity consumption has fallen by more than three percent only in 1956, the year of the General Strike (-3.1%), and in 1947 (-3.4%). Adjusted for temperature, power consumption fell by three percent last year.

Most power from co-generation, records in hydropower and wind power

Last year, combined heat and power generation (CHP) covered almost 31 percent of electricity consumption, nuclear power a good 25 percent, hydropower 19 percent, and coal and other condensing power more than nine percent. The share of wind power was 0.3 percent. Net electricity imports accounted for almost 15 percent of energy consumption.

Combined heat and power generation (26.7 TWh) remained at the previous year’s level regardless of the warm weather. CHP electricity amounted to 1.5 percent more than in 2007, while industrial CHP fell by two percent. Nuclear power generation (22.0 TWh) fell slightly from the record level of 2007.

Hydropower (16.9 TWh) rose by more than one fifth and reached record levels. The previous record was from 1992 (15.0 TWh). The requirement for condensing power generated mostly from coal (8.2 TWh) fell by 43 percent from the year before. Wind power generation (0.2 TWh) grew by almost 40 percent with new wind power plants.

Net electricity imports (12.8 TWh) grew by less than two percent. The water situation in the Nordic countries was good up to the end of the summer. However, in the autumn the Nordic water reserves declined to below long-term average levels. Power imports to Finland from Sweden and Norway fell from the previous year, and electricity trading with the Nordic countries turned to a slight lead in exports for Finland. Conversely, there was a significant increase in electricity imports from Russia and Estonia.

Electricity consumption: still more than half to industry,
a quarter to households and agriculture

Last year, industry consumed 51%, households and agriculture almost 26%, and services and construction almost 20 percent of all electricity. Just over 3 percent of the electricity was lost during transmission and distribution. Electricity for domestic use and electric heating is included in household consumption.

Electricity required by industry declined last year by 7.1 percent. The decline accelerated towards the year end. In forest industry, power consumption fell by 10.9%, in other industries by 1-2 percent. Services and construction required the same amount of electricity last year as the year before.

The peak load in power consumption for the winter season 2007/2008 was reached on Friday 4 January at 5-6 p.m., when the average hourly demand was 13,770 megawatts (MW). During the peak hour, combined heat and power generation accounted for 4,568 MW, nuclear power for 2,729 MW, hydropower for 2,100 MW, condensing generation for 1,268 MW, and imported electricity for 3,056 MW. The wind power obtained was 49 MW. To date, the highest peak load in Finland, on 8 February 2007 at 7-8 a.m., was 14,914 MW. This winter, the power requirement to date has peaked at about 13,000 MW.

Carbon dioxide emissions from power generation
down by 5.3 million tonnes

The power generated in Finland last year was cleaner than the year before. The emissions from power generation from coal, natural gas and peat were 12.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, 5.3 million tonnes less than the previous year. The reduction is due to the fall in coal condensing production.

Last year, 66 percent of the electricity generated in Finland was greenhouse gas emissions-free (60 percent in 2007). The share of nuclear power was 30 percent and that of renewable energy sources 36 percent of all electricity production. Carbon dioxide emissions per each kilowatt hour produced last year amounted to 168 grams, 228 grams the year before.

Market electricity price on average 70 percent higher than in 2007

On the Nord Pool Spot electricity exchange, electricity market prices rose strongly at first last year, and fell in the autumn. On average, the price of market electricity in Finland was 70 percent higher than in the previous year. The monthly mean price averaged 5.1 cents/kilowatt hour (c/kWh), having been 3.0 c/kWh the year before.

In Finland, the total price of domestic power (5000 kWh/yr) inclusive of the costs of electric energy, transmission and distribution, and value added and electricity taxes at the start of 2009 stood at 12.44 c/kWh, having been 11.27 c/kWh at the start of 2008. The increase last year was 10.3 percent. The price paid by a householder for his electric energy rose during the year by an average of 17.1% to 6.9 c/kWh, exclusive of tax 5.66 c/kWh.

The price of electricity in Finland is one of the lowest in Europe. The EU Eurostat figures show that in terms of purchasing power, the price of domestic electricity is the cheapest in the EU countries and about one third lower than the average price in the EU countries.

Additional information:

Juha Naukkarinen, Managing Director, Tel. +35850 607 72
Pekka Tiusanen, Manager, Communications, Tel. +35850 552 1347