59 minutes ago
Russia has announced that it is about to cut off electricity supplies to Finland due to payment difficulties
The Russian company, RAW Nordic, said that it will suspend electricity supplies to Finland starting next Saturday, justifying the decision by problems related to the payment of its financial dues.
The Russian company said it did not get paid for the electricity it delivered to Finland earlier.
This came one day after the Finnish president announced his support for his country’s application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Last Thursday, Moscow threatened to take “escalatory steps” after Finland announced that it plans to join NATO.
The company operating the electricity network in Finland said that Russia provides it with a small percentage, not exceeding 10 percent, of the country’s electricity needs, and that it will be able to provide this amount of electric power supply from alternative sources.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine showed concerns about securing European energy supplies, amid calls for countries in the European region to end their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
There is a common border between Russia and Finland with a length of 1,300 km, and Finland avoids seeking to join NATO to provoke hostility with its eastern neighbour. But since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has been popular support in Finland for the idea of joining NATO.
Finland is expected to formally announce its plan to seek NATO membership. However, RA or Nordic has not explicitly linked its decision to cut off electricity supplies to Finland with the decision to start a bid for NATO membership.
“This situation is exceptional and happened for the first time in more than 20 years in the history of our trade exchange,” the Russian state company said.
Neither the Russian company nor the operator of the Finnish electricity grid “Vingrid” explained what was behind the difficulties in repayment.
Russia cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland last month after the two countries refused to pay for gas in Russian rubles, a change that Moscow aims to circumvent economic sanctions imposed on it since the start of its invasion of Ukraine.
Gazprom announced that it would stop pumping gas into the Polish part of the Yamal Europe pipeline.
Vingrid said it does not expect any electricity supply shortfall as a result of the Russian cuts, as these supplies cover only 10 percent of Finland’s electricity needs.
picture released, Getty Images
The company operating the electricity grid in Finland expects to increase wind power generation in the coming period
“The absence of electricity imports from Russia will be compensated for by increased imports from Sweden and more electricity generation in Finland,” said Raima Bavenen, Vice President of Energy Operations at Vengrid.
The Finnish company stated that the demand for energy is declining due to the warm weather that has prevailed in the country in the recent period, amid expectations of an increase in electricity generation from wind energy in the coming period.
He also indicated that it is expected that a nuclear plant to generate electric power will be inaugurated and operated this summer, suggesting that it may produce more electricity than the supplies cut off by Russia.
This comes after the European Commission proposed the idea of completely dispensing with European imports of Russian oil by the end of 2022, but the final decision in this regard is still pending due to Hungary’s refusal to join the Russian oil boycott, fearing that this would lead to severe damage to its economy.
NATO expansion
Russia warned Finland and Sweden last month against joining NATO, saying the move would not bring stability to Europe.
“The alliance remains an instrument aimed at confrontation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a statement issued regarding the two European neighbors’ warning to Moscow.
It came at a time when US defense officials said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine was a “fatal strategic mistake” that would likely lead to NATO expansion.
US administration officials have expected the northern European neighbors to apply for NATO membership, likely in June.
It is believed that Washington supports the move, which will see the number of NATO members increased to 32. US State Department officials said last week that discussions had taken place between NATO leaders and the foreign ministers of Helsinki and Stockholm.
European split
The European Commission announced last March that it would reduce its imports of Russian natural gas by two-thirds in one year, but there is still division among the European Union over the possibility of dispensing with imports of Russian natural gas.
Companies from European countries including Germany, Hungary and Slovakia have agreed to pay for their natural gas supplies from Russia in euros to Gazprombank, which will convert the currency into rubles.
The British Financial Times newspaper said that gas companies in Austria and Italy are planning to open an account in Gazprombank.
picture released, Getty Images
There is popular support in Finland for the country’s application to join NATO since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The European Commission said that if Russian gas can be paid for in euros and the buyer gets confirmation of payments before converting the currency into rubles, there will be no breach of sanctions.
However, there are differing views among European countries regarding how to interpret the initial directives while European diplomats said they wanted more clarity on the issue.
Companies from European countries including Germany, Hungary and Slovakia have agreed to pay for their natural gas supplies from Russia in euros to Gazprombank, which will convert the currency into rubles.
The British Financial Times newspaper said that gas companies in Austria and Italy are planning to open an account in Gazprombank.
The European Commission said that if Russian gas can be paid for in euros and the buyer gets confirmation of payments before converting the currency into rubles, there will be no breach of sanctions.
However, there are differing views among European countries regarding how to interpret the initial directives while European diplomats said they wanted more clarity on the issue.
In contrast, the United Kingdom relies on Russian gas to provide only 5.00 percent of its needs, while the United States does not import Russian gas.
Russia pumps natural gas to Europe through a large number of pipelines. The gas is collected in regional storage centers and then distributed across the European continent.