Government Prepares New Grid Connection Priority Rules in Response to Data Centre Boom

The Minister of the Environment and Climate, Sari Multala, has stated that the Finnish Government is preparing amendments to the Electricity Market Act. The proposed amendments would set out rules to prioritise between applicants seeking a grid connection where demand exceeds available network capacity. Under the new rules, electricity consumption could also be encouraged to locate closer to production sites. The stated aim is to limit the rise in electricity prices and manage the capacity of the electricity grid.

The Government’s initiative coincides with Fingrid’s observation that there are 5 GW of agreed grid connection agreements in Finland, and that if all such projects were implemented in full over the coming years, they would increase Finland’s electricity consumption by nearly 40 per cent compared with 2025 levels. Fingrid has also recently highlighted a geographical mismatch: large consumers, including data centres, tend to seek sites in the south, while most of Finland's electricity production is located further north. Any prioritisation regime would introduce a further variable into site selection. Geographical location alone could be seen as a well-reasoned factor: it makes sense to build consumption closer to production so as to avoid the construction of new, long power lines. This would also benefit operators, since it is users who bear the cost of the connection lines. That said, the new rules should treat different industry sectors equally. Another point worth watching, when it comes to site selection, is whether network operators are given discretion in applying the priority rules – and if so, how consistently different operators would apply them.

Under the current Act, network operators have no legal basis for ranking industrial connectors by priority. Following the introduction of the new connection principles in June 2026 and Fingrid’s new practices, connections are generally processed on a maturity basis. There are good arguments why capacity should be allocated based on objective and equal criteria for those projects that are furthest developed. At the same time, the connection obligation, and correspondingly the connector's right of access to the grid, are core principles of electricity market regulation and should not be undermined by the new rules. Large industrial projects take years to develop, and available grid capacity remains essential to them. The Ministry has already noted in its notification of the start of the preparatory works that “the Electricity Market Directive does not require grid connection applications to be dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis. EU Member States and national regulatory authorities may instead introduce other rules for network operators to apply, provided those rules are non-discriminatory, transparent, and based on objective, technically and economically justified criteria.” The Ministry’s statement indicates that the new rules could alter how the maturity criterion is applied in practice.

Over the course of this year, there has been considerable political debate about the possible regulation of data centres. There have, for example, been calls for data centres to generate their own electricity or participate in the flexibility of the grid in general. Fingrid has also proposed, in its technical terms, that data centres should be able to flex 30% of their consumption in the event of a fault in the electricity network, a power shortage, or another exceptional operating situation. Although the Minister has stated that the aim of the new priority rules is not to reduce investment but to enable as much investment as possible within the limits of available grid capacity, the uncertainty created by the currently ongoing discussions (so far carried out in very broad strokes) is harmful to the investment climate.

Multala states that the Government is also preparing an investment support scheme to secure new, weather-resilient, fast-start energy production capacity, arguing that this type of energy production has not emerged to any significant extent on market terms. The Government has not yet elaborated on what forms of energy could qualify for the new scheme.

The mechanisms and criteria for prioritising electricity users have not yet been finalised and will be clarified as the preparatory work continues. The Government intends to issue the legislative proposal later this autumn.

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