Finnish Electricity Customers to Shift From Hourly to Quarterly Pricing
HELSINKI, Finland – Major โFinnish electricity providers Fortum, Helen, and Vattenfall areโข transitioning customers with variable โelectricity prices from hourly pricing toโ pricing โฃper quarter, aโค change โฃdesigned to reduce volatility andโ ease โคconsumerโ stress, according to statements providedโ to news agency STT. The shiftโ aimsโค to smooth out dramatic price fluctuations โฃseen withโ the current system, were costs can swingโค significantly from one โhourโ to the next.
The move doesn’t eliminate dynamic pricing โentirely. Hourly-based agreements โwill remain possible if explicitly stated in theโ contract,โ and not tied to broader finnish price areas.Experts believe the change will allow consumers to better optimize electricity โuse, particularly those utilizing automated consumption controls for heating or electric vehicle charging.
“In general, when price changes become smaller and smoother, the โคstress around the electricity price โcan โdecrease slightly,” explains pekka Salomaa, an expert onโ the Finnish โฃelectricity market.โ Heโ emphasizes that the overall cost โof electricity is not expected to increase or decrease as a result of the change.
Most Finnish electricity meters โขhave already โขbeen upgraded to support fifteen-minute readings, a prerequisite forโค the โฃnew quarterly โฃpricing structure. Older meters must be updatedโค or replaced by โ2028. Currently, Helen reports 60 percent of meters โin โHelsinki are equipped for quarterly measurement, with the remainder scheduled for updates before โขOctober. Vattenfall indicates approximately 75 percent of its customers have compatibleโฃ meters, while Fortum reports around 50 percent.
Forโฃ customers whose agreements switch to quarterly pricing butโค whose meters still measure hourly consumption, the hourly usage โwill be evenlyโค distributed across the four โขquarterly โblocks. This transition reflects โa broader effort โto adapt to evolving energy marketโฃ dynamics and provide more predictable pricingโ for consumers.