Gasgrid Finland has published the service price list for 2024 which will be applied 1.1.2024 at 07:00 EET – 1.1.2025 at 07:00 EET. The price list can be viewed on Gasgrid Finland’s website: link and directly here: link. Having the ITC (Inter TSO Compensation) agreement signed by the transmission system operators of Finland, Estonia and Latvia, there is no tariff at Balticconnector entry and exit points.
Over the past couple of years, there have been major changes in the operating environment of the gas market on several occasions, when gas flow through the Imatra entry point ended, Hamina and Inkoo LNG terminals became part of the Finnish gas system, and Balticconnector was damaged in October 2023. In addition, gas consumption in Finland have at least temporarily decreased by about half in 2020 and 2021 level. These changes have led to a volatile market situation, which has made the predictability of pricing challenging. Gas use in 2023 will slightly recover from the previous year’s level, estimated to be around 13 TWh, but the consumption in Finland has decreased, at least temporarily, to about half the level of 2020 and 2021.
The operational capacity of Gasgrid Finland’s transmission network is maintained at an excellent level by the proactive and planned maintenance activities and a maintenance investment program. Our goal is extreme safety and undisturbed gas transmission for our customers. The decrease in gas usage volume does not mean that the maintenance activities of the existing infrastructure could be safely reduced, but that maintaining the system requires at least the current maintenance investment in the future as well. Repairing Balticconnector undersea pipeline back to operational condition is extremely important from the point of view of the Finnish and Baltic gas market and the Finnish energy system more broadly, but at the same time it is a large and possibly significant cost-generating project.
Key objective is the transmission infrastructure’s development and maintenance while prioritizing customers, safety and security of supply
In order for Gasgrid Finland’s turnover to be sufficient to cover the costs related to the repair of the Balticconnector and to maintain the high quality of the transmission system and services in the future, Gasgrid finds the need to increase the pricing of its transmission services. The Energy Authority has granted Gasgrid Finland permission to derogate from the paragraph regarding the transmission pricing increase ceiling stipulated in Section 24, subsection 1 of the Natural Gas Market Act (587/2017), in accordance with Section 24, subsection 7 of the Natural Gas Market Act.
Gasgrid Finland’s key objective is appropriate maintenance and development of the transmission infrastructure so that the infrastructure serves customers safely and reliably. Due to the changed market situation and flow dynamics, Gasgrid Finland will evaluate its possibilities to adapt its transmission system in such a way that the transmission services provided by the gas system meet customer expectations and at the same time there is no capacity in use for which there is no apparent need. Due to the reasons described above, Gasgrid Finland will increase the transmission prices for 2024 by approximately 25 %.
After the gas market opening in 2020, the principles of transmission pricing changed significantly. The tariff increases made in recent years keep the level of the transmission tariffs comparable compared to the time before the market opening, and on the other hand, in our view, the transmission tariffs remain at a reasonable level in relation to the price level more widely in Europe.
The goal of transmission pricing is predictability and stability
The goal of Gasgrid Finland’s transmission pricing is predictability and stability. The damage at the Balticconnector undersea pipeline and the resulting repair work, as well as a sharp drop in the gas consumption, have been unforeseen and extremely unfortunate factors affecting transmission pricing. If gas demand volumes recover from the current level, this creates the conditions for reviewing the transmission pricing during the regulatory period which will start in the beginning of 2024.
Gasgrid Finland has also published the information in accordance with Article 30 of the network code on harmonized transmission tariff structures for gas (‘tariff network code’). The document contains essential information on the tariffs, transmission and balancing services and the charge of centralized data exchange system of retail market.
The document regarding service pricing can be found on Gasgrid Finland’s website: link and directly here: link.