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Published: 9 September 2021

Energy prices rose sharply in the second quarter

The big rise in prices is partly explained by the fact that last year energy prices fell exceptionally much. This year, prices have returned close to longer term averages or above them. This has been affected by the recovery of the economy from the shock caused by the corona pandemic and tax increases.

Fuel prices in heat production

The prices of oil products imported to Finland continued to rise in the second quarter. This also has an effect on the rise in the prices of liquid fuels. The price of motor gasoline was 21 per cent higher and that of diesel oil 26 per cent higher in June than one year earlier. These were also affected by the tax increases that took effect last year in August. The price of light fuel oil rose in June by as much as 34 per cent from twelve months back.

The import price of hard coal has been clearly higher this year than last year. In June, the tax-free price was 21 per cent higher and the price including excise duty was 12 per cent higher than one year previously. The rise in the price including excise duty was also affected by the tax increase at the beginning of the year.

The rise in the price of forest chippings also continued in the second quarter. Compared with the second quarter of the year before, the price was four per cent higher. The tax-free price of milled peat was falling slightly, but due to the tax increases at the beginning of the year, its price including excise duty rose by 15 per cent over the corresponding period.

In June 2021, the system price of the electricity exchange derived from the sell and buy bids on the exchange and the area price for Finland were close to the average price for 2018 and 2019. However, compared with June last year, the system price was nearly 13 times higher in June and the area price for Finland double. Prices were exceptionally low in the Nordic electricity market in 2020.

The rise in the market prices of electricity was also visible in the two to five per cent rise in consumer prices of electricity in the second quarter compared with the prices of last year’s second quarter. For industry customers, there was dispersion in price changes. For the smallest consumers, prices fell by three to eight per cent over the same period, due to the lowering of the industry electricity tax at the beginning of the year. Changes in the electricity exchange are more clearly reflected in the prices of bigger consumers and their prices were 13 to 19 per cent higher in June than in last year's June. Household customers’ electricity prices are based on the obligation to deliver prices published by the Energy Authority, while the prices of enterprise and corporate customers are based on Statistics Finland's price inquiry on electrical energy. The obligation to deliver price reacts slowly to changes in electricity prices on the Nordic electricity exchange.

The compilation of price statistics on sod peat has to be discontinued because data could not be collected from sufficiently many data suppliers.

Source: Statistics Finland, Energy prices

Inquiries: Ville Maljanen 029 551 2691, energia@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Katri Kaaja

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Energy taxes, precautionary stock fees and oil pollution fees (9.9.2021)
• Appendix table 2. Energy prices in heat production in June 2021 (9.9.2021)
• Appendix table 3. Consumer prices of heating energy in June 2021 (9.9.2021)

Figures

• Appendix figure 1. Import prices of oil (9.9.2021)
• Appendix figure 2. Consumer prices of principal oil products (9.9.2021)
• Appendix figure 3. Fuel prices in heat production (9.9.2021)
• Appendix figure 4. Fuel prices in electricity production (9.9.2021)
• Appendix figure 5. Price of electricity by type of consumer (9.9.2021)
• Appendix figure 6. Average monthly spot prices at the Nord Pool Spot power exchange (9.9.2021)

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Updated 09.09.2021