Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment received more than 200 comments on its draft act introducing a priority procedure for electricity network connections, it said on 23 October. The ministry will continue preparing the act on the basis of the feedback and expects to submit the government proposal to Parliament in December 2026.
The draft is meant to ensure appropriate and efficient use of network capacity between competing needs when capacity is scarce. The ministry points to a sharp rise in demand for connections driven by electrification, growing renewable generation, new types of consumption and more electricity storage. Despite continuing grid development, networks have at times become congested.
Alongside the act, the ministry has appointed a working group to look at further changes to electricity market legislation. It will examine whether stricter conditions could be applied to new network customers to steer them towards certain locations and to increase electricity production, storage and demand response. The group is also to assess how to secure sufficient generation and transmission capacity and fair use of available connection capacity as consumption grows rapidly, with the aim of keeping electricity prices competitive.
The working group must take into account the competitiveness of Finland’s investment environment and EU legislative requirements. It is chaired by Petteri Kuuva, Senior Ministerial Adviser at the ministry, and includes representatives of ministries, government agencies and the energy industry. Its proposal is due by 28 March 2027, with legislative needs to be assessed in spring 2027.
For the Baltic wind sector, connection rules shape how quickly new load, storage and generation can be tied to the Finnish grid. The ministry first circulated the draft in September, with the new rules targeted for the start of 2027.
