The Estlink 2 electricity transmission connection, linking Finland to Estonia, experienced an outage on Christmas Day, according to a statement from the Finnish electricity network operator Fingrid.
Ongoing Investigation
Fingrid’s operations manager, Arto Pahkin, stated that the cause of the failure is under investigation and that the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out.
“We are analyzing the situation as a whole and will provide more information as soon as the cause is identified,” Pahkin said.
The outage occurred at 12:26 PM, when the energy transmission from Finland to Estonia was 658 megawatts.
Official Reactions
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo addressed the incident on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), assuring that the interruption does not affect the power supply in Finland.
“Authorities remain vigilant, even during Christmas, and are investigating the matter,” Orpo wrote.
Cross-Border Connections in Focus
Finland and Estonia jointly operate the Estlink 1 and Estlink 2 connections. While Estlink 2 is out of operation, Estlink 1 continues to function normally, albeit with lower transmission capacity.
According to Fingrid, Estlink 2 is essential for the efficiency of the European electrical system, due to its capacity of 650 megawatts, significantly higher than the 350 megawatts of Estlink 1.
Possible Involvement of Chinese Ship
Reports indicate that the Chinese ship “Xin Xin Tiang” was sailing over the cable at the time of the interruption. As it moved in the cable area, its speed decreased. Authorities are investigating the incident. The “Xin Xin Tiang” is considered the sister ship of “NewNew Pola,” which was implicated in the destruction of the Balticconnector undersea gas pipeline in 2023.
Sources: Ilta-Sanomat, X @PetteriOrpo. This content was created with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team
