Finnish natural gas market regulation to be reformed

The Finnish Government has today published its proposal for the new Natural Gas Market Act. According to the proposal, the Finnish natural gas wholesale and retail markets will be opened up to competition in 2020 following the completion of the Balticconnector pipeline between Finland and Estonia. Gasum underlines the importance of ensuring the competitiveness of natural gas and the seamless functioning of the market during the period of transition as well.

The new Natural Gas Market Act will result in reduced regulation of natural gas wholesale and retail operations and, to a large extent, abolish special regulation concerning pricing. According to the proposal, the Finnish gas market will be opened up to competition following the completion of the Balticconnector pipeline. In this context, Finland will waive its right to derogate from some of the requirements of the EU’s Internal Market in Natural Gas Directive. This will result in the unbundling of the Gasum-owned gas transmission network and gas sales.

The Balticconnector will connect the Finnish and Estonian markets but will not provide a connection to the European gas network and alternative source of gas without further investments in Poland and the Baltics. It is important to ensure that progress will be made in these investments and that the investments will not generate extra costs for Finnish gas users.

The new Natural Gas Market Act is aimed to enter into force on January 1, 2018. The provisions concerning the unbundling of the transmission system operator and the opening up of the natural gas market to competition are to enter into force on January 1, 2020.

Gasum CEO Johanna Lamminen underlines the importance of ensuring Finnish gas users’ access to competitive fuel in the future too and creating the conditions required for the sustained development of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biogas markets.

”It’s vital that the changes brought by the legislative reform are implemented in a manner not jeopardizing the competitiveness of natural gas. We’re well prepared for this change and will do our very best to ensure a smooth transition into an open market.”

For more information please contact:

Johanna Lamminen, Chief Executive Officer, Gasum Ltd
Phone: +358 20 44 78 661,
(for queries contact Henna Walker, Executive assistant)

Olga Väisänen, Vice President, Communications, Gasum Ltd
Phone: +358 40 554 0578, firstname.surname(a)gasum.fi

The energy company Gasum is a Finnish gas sector (natural gas and biogas) expert that is building a bridge to a carbon-neutral society on land and at sea. Gasum contributes to the creation of a sustainable energy economy by increasing the supply of biogas, developing the Nordic gas ecosystem and ensuring the price competitiveness of gas. Gasum imports natural gas to Finland, produces and upgrades biogas in Finland and Sweden, and transmits and delivers these for energy production, industry, homes, and land and maritime transport. Gasum is the leading supplier of biogas in the Nordic countries. The Gasum subsidiary Skangas is the leading Nordic expert in liquefied natural gas (LNG) that will continue to strengthen the position and infrastructure of LNG and the utilization of new gas solutions in Finland, Sweden and Norway. The Gasum Group has around 400 employees in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The company’s revenue in 2016 totaled €843 million.