System Restoration

On 25 April 2012, the Fenno-Skan 2 HVDC interconnector between Finland and Sweden was returned to commercial service after approximately 67 days out of action following an anchor-strike cable fault on 17 February 2012. Fingrid and Svenska Kraftnät confirmed that the 800 MW, ±500 kV submarine cable had been repaired in the Gulf of Bothnia and the link reconnected to the Nordic electricity market for Elbas (intra-day) trading that morning. The outage, caused when a German vessel dropped anchor onto the submarine cable, had constrained Finland-Sweden cross-border capacity and contributed to higher Finnish electricity prices over the preceding two months, with the additional cost to Finnish consumers and industry estimated at around €80 million. The repair operation was completed earlier than originally projected, contingent on favourable weather and successful commissioning tests, and restored full 800 MW transfer capability between Rauma and Finnböle.