On 5 May, it was already light in Helsinki at five in the morning. Fingrid’s Public Affairs Specialist, Viljami Yli-Hemminki, had ironed his suit the night before. A change of clothes and a laptop fit into a small shoulder bag.
The destination was a Nordic seminar, the Nordic Electricity Market Forum in Oslo. The Head of the Market Solutions Unit, Maarit Uusitalo, and Senior Advisor Satu Viljainen from Fingrid were also on the trip.
The airport has become very familiar to Yli-Hemminki over the years, as he lived in Scotland, Canada and Costa Rica for more than 11 years before returning to Finland last year. He now works in Fingrid’s Public Affairs and Communications unit as a specialist in international affairs.
Coordinating European and international cooperation has taken him to Brussels, Dublin, Berlin, Budapest, Warsaw, and elsewhere. This is the third time he has headed to Oslo.
Yli-Hemminki participates in the planning and implementation of advocacy work at Fingrid and follows and analyses international decision-making, legislation and policy developments. The job also involves preparing position papers, opinions and background material and coordinating meetings.
In Oslo, the theme of this year’s forum was Nordic competitiveness, with the electricity sector playing a key role as an innovative and growing industry. Its contribution is also important for other sectors.
We are increasingly weather dependent
The forum took place in the beautiful Deichman Bjørvika library. Nearly 90 participants from different energy ministries and agencies attended, in addition to transmission system operators.
Representatives included Finnish Energy, Fortum, the electricity exchange Nord Pool, the European energy companies Centrica and EnBW, and the Association of Energy Users in Finland (ELFi).
”The atmosphere at the forum was enthusiastic and focused, as participants addressed topics that are very important to all of us,” Yli-Hemminki says.
At the opening ceremony, Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland stressed that Nordic cooperation in the energy sector is the key to success. The Nordic countries need to work together and build stronger networks to succeed.
”We have to respect the fact that different countries have different energy systems and priorities. This has been in the Nordic interest,” Aasland said in his speech.
He also stressed the need for flexibility. It was also clear from the speech and other discussions at the forum that other Nordic countries are also feeling the effects of the surge in weather-dependent generation on their grids.
Yli-Hemminki sees increased flexibility through, for example, consumption flexibility, flexible connection contracts and tariff methods as an important part of an energy system that is increasingly dependent on the grid.
”Flexibility is necessary not only to ensure sufficient electricity, but also to balance the electricity system and manage transmissions,” he says.
According to Yli-Hemminki, there is still a lot of potential in Finland, especially in the areas of market-based onshore wind power and industrial-scale solar power. Both will accelerate the green transition by responding to the growing electricity consumption resulting from new consumption investments.
Advocacy is about working with people
The group discussions at the forum focused on state aid, flexibility and market intervention. The lunches and dinners allow for more relaxed discussions and networking with different actors in the field.
The seminars and meetings are an important part of Yli-Hemminki’s advocacy work, where Fingrid’s messages are taken forward both at the Nordic and EU levels. Important issues at the moment include improving the reliability of the electricity grid, promoting the integration of renewable energy, strengthening cyber security, and optimising transmission network capacity and flexibility mechanisms.
Tee Nordic network companies have cooperated closely for a long time.
The Nordic network companies have cooperated closely for a long time. There is a lot of communication at different levels of the organisation, and cooperation is varied and ongoing.
”Cooperation has also increased with other countries in the Baltic Sea region, and the threshold has been lowered so that we can easily call Germany or Poland, for example, to ask for their positions.”
Back home
An early wake-up on Tuesday 6 May allowed for a walk in the Vigeland Sculpture Park. Yli-Hemminki also attended a unit meeting remotely, starting at 7:30 am.
During the day, the results of the group discussions were discussed, and Lukasz Kolinski, representing the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, gave a presentation. He stressed the need to develop European networks and cross-border connections.
The return flight to Helsinki was cancelled, which allowed Yli-Hemminki to have dinner with a local acquaintance. A delay to the replacement flight provided another opportunity to exchange views with Finnish operators at the airport.
