The Finnish Energy Authority said on Friday it is investigating potential violations of electricity market legislation during the high electricity prices seen in Finland in the first week of January.

The Finnish power system price set a record high of 890.54 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) for Jan. 5 deliveries, while hourly prices soared as high as 1,896 euros/MWh, prompting security of supply concerns and calls to cut consumption.

The Energy Agency would look in more detail at the purchase and sale offers made on the Finnish wholesale electricity market during the first week of January and the supply of electricity to the market, it said.

The event occurred at a time of high demand and scarcity of supply, leaving the market very sensitive to even small changes to purchase and sale offers on the power exchange, it added.

"There is no suspicion of a violation by any market party behind the investigation," the regulator stressed, however.

A more detailed investigation of such a market situation was part of normal market surveillance, it added.

 

 

(Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Stine Jacobsen)