Finnish gas market opens today

The Balticconnector gas pipeline is scheduled to interconnect Finnish and Baltic gas markets from today, January 1, thus opening up the Finnish market to competition.

EU legislation requires that gas transmission be unbundled from the sale of energy in an open market, said an official press release.

The unbundling requirement also concerns the ownership structures of companies operating at present.

From the start of the year, Gasum Oy’s gas transmission business will be run by Gasgrid Finland, a new company unbundled from Gasum.

Gasum is owned jointly by the State and the special assignment company Gasonia Oy. Gasonia will be split up to form the special assignment company SuomenKaasuverkko Oy. SuomenKaasuverkko and the State will be joint owners of Gasgrid Finland, and responsibility for the ownership steering of these two companies will rest with the finance ministry.

Gasum will continue as a gas production and sales company, and the unbundling has no impact on the ownership relations of the remaining parts of Gasum.

Now that the Baltic Connector natural gas pipeline has been completed, gas can be imported to Finland from Russia and via the Baltic States.