Fingrid Oyj - Company Announcement

Fingrid will raise the grid fees

Helsinki, Finland, 2011-09-07 10:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fingrid Oyj

Stock Exchange Release 7.9.2011 at 11.00 EET



Fingrid Oyj will raise the grid fees by 30 per cent on the average at the
beginning of 2012. The raises are based on the increase in the cost level of
the electricity transmission business and on the company's sizeable capital
investment programme for replacing the aged parts of the transmission grid and
for connecting new production capacity to the grid. 

Fingrid's capital expenditure in 2011 totals approx. 270 million euros. There
will also be considerable capital investments to strengthen the grid in the
future: Fingrid is prepared to make capital investment of a total of 1,700
million euros in new transmission connections and reserve power plants in the
next 10 years. 

All in all, Fingrid is planning to construct almost 3,000 kilometres of
transmission lines and 30 substations. The capital investment programme
encompasses several major projects such as two submarine cable transmission
connections and the construction of the Forssa reserve power plant. In addition
to the new transmission connections, a number of substations and transmission
lines originally constructed in the 1960s and 1970s will be modernised. 

The increase in the grid fees is the result of many factors. The company has
been communicating the upcoming pressure to increase the grid fees for several
years. Alongside the large-scale capital investment programme, the market-based
costs of the electricity transmission business are on the increase. 

“Fingrid's grid revenue in 2011 totals approx. 220 million euros. The annual
reserve power costs and reserve costs will rise by about 20 million euros from
the current 30 million euros. The transmission losses in the Finnish grid are
also increasing, and the resulting loss energy costs borne by Fingrid are
rising to about 70 million euros over the next few years. Moreover, the
company's financial costs are expected to go up by about 20 million euros from
the present level in the coming years”, said CEO Jukka Ruusunen from Fingrid. 

The grid fees levied from Finnish industries and energy companies will increase
at the beginning of 2012 by 30 per cent on the average.The new contract period
extends over four years, but the grid fees will be reviewed annually. The
structure of the grid tariff will remain essentially the same as before, but
the electricity producers' payment contribution will rise slightly. 

“Fingrid's grid fees will rise gradually to a level that corresponds to the
permitted level of return derived from system operation as specified by the
Energy Market Authority. In the past four years, the grid fees levied by
Fingrid have been approx. 250 million euros less than the level of return
permitted by the Energy Market Authority, but these reduced earnings will not
be recovered in the new fees”, Jukka Ruusunen stated. 



Further information:

Jukka Ruusunen, President & CEO, tel.+358 40 593 8428
Tom Pippingsköld, CFO, tel. +358 40 519 5041