Mystery disruption hits Finland-Estonia power link EstLink2, foreign interference not ruled out
3:44 PM EST, January 27, 2024
EstLink 2, a transmission cable, disconnected from the network shortly after midnight on Friday. The exact cause and location of the failure remain undetermined. An ongoing investigation into the event was announced on Friday evening by transmission operator Fingrid.
"We Lack Evidence at Present"
"Currently, we lack evidence that would indicate the failure was due to interference by a foreign entity, but at this stage, we cannot exclude any possibility," confessed Timo Kaukonen, Fingrid's chief expert.
"We don't have information suggesting that an external entity caused the failure," stated Kari Klemm from the Ministry of Economy, as quoted by the "Helsingin Sanomat" newspaper. "According to the police, there's no evidence pointing to this," he added. Nonetheless, he noted that no conclusion can be definitively reached until a thorough investigation is completed.
No Threat Posed
According to Fingrid, the current cable failure "does not pose a threat to the operation of the Finnish transmission system, and the power supply is secure."
About the EstLink2 Cable
EstLink2, which got disconnected, is the second primary line joining Finland and Estonia. The total length of this connection is roughly 105 miles, 90 of which runs along the floor of the Gulf of Finland. On both the Finnish and Estonian sides, several miles of the line are overland. Worth noting is that Finland also has power connections with Sweden and Norway.
It should be noted that the transmission power of EstLink2 is 650 MW, which is considerable for the country.
For a comparison, the total power of Finland's largest nuclear reactor, Olkiluoto 3, is 1600 MW. Power supplies are currently secure, primarily due to heightened production from wind farms. However, energy demand will rise when wind strength decreases and severe frosts return.
