Production in 2009

In 2009, electricity generated at Pohjolan Voima’s power plants amounted to 15.0 TWh, 2% down on the previous year. A greater share of the electricity was produced using nuclear power than in the previous year. The volume of electricity produced using hydropower did not reach the 2008 production record. The production of condensing power plants increased significantly from the previous year’s level, while the production of combined heat and power (CHP) decreased. Electricity generation in industrial CHP plants decreased, and the production of district heat remained at the previous year’s level. Heat production amounted to 5.1 TWh, 1% down on 2008. Production of wind power continued to increase.

The recession caused a fall of 7% in Finnish electricity consumption compared to 2008. The levels of Nordic reservoirs were below the average level for the most of the year. Regardless of the reduced consumption, the record-long annual outages in Swedish nuclear power plants increased the demand for condensing power in the Nordic electricity market. The lack of capacity at times of high consumption was clearly indicated by the December peak prices of market electricity.