According to LUT University industrial professor Jukka Ruusunen, the maintenance of three large nuclear power plants at the same time could significantly impact the electricity market. Specifically, if all three units of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant were under maintenance simultaneously, more than a quarter of Finland’s electricity production capacity would be removed from the market. This risk increased on Monday after Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), which owns the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, announced that the maintenance of Olkiluoto 2 would be extended by another day.
Ruusunen estimates that if a lot of basic strength is removed from production, it will have a significant impact on electricity prices. He believes that nuclear power plants are large units that produce electricity with a total power of approximately 3,380 megawatts. This corresponds to almost 28 percent of Finland’s electricity production on a windy day and almost half if there is no wind. If these units were suddenly removed from production, it would undoubtedly increase electricity prices in the market.
However, Ruusunen does not believe that there is any concern about power sufficiency due to low electricity consumption outside of the heating season. He also notes that nuclear power plants maintenance schedules are planned years in advance and announced to energy exchanges well in advance. As such, energy companies cannot easily change these schedules without causing disruptions in the system. The Energy Agency or Fingrid cannot order TVO to postpone maintenance schedules unless there is an exceptional situation or crisis scenario. In this case, TVO has already announced its annual maintenance schedule for Olkiluoto for the next three years.
