January 1, 2020, saw the opening of the Finnish gas market to competition and the wholesale of gas and transmission network unbundled from each other. At the same time, the new gas transmission network company, Gasgrid Finland Oy, unbundled from energy company Gasum Oy into a separate company, began operations.
As of January 1, 2020, the pipeline gas market in Finland is open to competition. The reform has been driven by the new Natural Gas Market Act, which entered into force in 2018, and under which the transmission and sale of gas must be unbundled from each other. A consequence of this is that Gasgrid Finland Oy is the new Transmission System Operator (TSO) with system responsibility and offers gas transmission services.
We have long been preparing for the new situation together. Opening up of the gas market has required extensive cooperation between different stakeholders to create new market rules. The import and wholesale of natural gas will be possible for all actors within the gas grid area. We expect interest in the Finnish gas market also from international actors who have earlier operated in open markets in the Baltic states, for example. The importance of gas as a source of energy will continue to grow in the combat against climate change, said Gasum CEO Johanna Lamminen.
In line with its strategy, Gasum continues to take “purposeful steps” to invest in developing the Nordic gas infrastructure in response to growing demand in industry and in the road and maritime transport sectors.
