Energy crisis | Demands for lowering the price of electricity are getting tougher in Vantaa – Electricity sales company as an obstacle

Electricity sales company The difficult situation of Oomi’s customers is causing ever-increasing demands for reasonably priced electricity bills in Vantaa.

On Monday, the Vantaa city council held a rigorous discussion about the ways in which the city could influence the sales company’s pricing. According to the hard line, Oomi should be completely broken up and Vantaa Energia should take electricity sales back into its own operations.

Vantaan Energia moved electricity sales to Oomi a couple of years ago.

In two council initiatives, the model of the fixed-term contract published by Helsinki energy company Helen on Monday and the sale of electricity produced by Vantaa Energia to residential properties in Vantaa at cost price are presented.

“When there has been no reaction in time, it is now time for Siberia to teach!”, commented the councilor Vaula Norrena (green) at the council meeting about the green energy initiative.

Last March, the group of the Greens initiated energy-saving measures that could minimize Russia’s energy income. According to Norrena, the initiative was responded to at a slow pace of nine months and using old methods.

Energy saving instead, the majority of the council wanted to discuss the current electricity price crisis.

In Vantaa, the situation is essentially different from, for example, Helen’s electricity network company’s area in Helsinki. Helen is now offering all Helsinki residents and their old customers in other municipalities a six-month fixed-term contract at a base price of 20 cents per kilowatt hour.

Instead, Oomi, the sales company used by Vantaan Energia, offers new customers only an indefinite contract tied to electricity exchange prices, with a margin of 0.22 cents per kilowatt hour.

In recent days, the hourly price including value added tax on the e-exchange has remained around 20 cents, but as recently as last Friday it was over 43 cents.

Basic Finns accredited Tuukka Saiménin and Deputy Commissioner Pekka Virkamäki in my opinion, the ownership management of companies in Vantaa should react promptly.

“Vantaa’s corporate division can request Vantaa Energia to sell electricity to residential customers at the production cost price. It could be implemented by February,” Virkamäki calculated.

Representing basic Finns in Vantaa Energia’s board Mika Niikko was not as confident.

“The goal is good and I share it, but my job is to bring realism to this discussion. We are committed to Oomi, which has ten partners. Such a change would mean that we would have to get rid of that agreement or negotiate with all shareholders about the change,” Niikko pointed out.

Saimén stated after hearing this that Oomi must then be separated.

Niikko reminded that energy companies have sold their production in advance for months, even six months. These commitments should be canceled if Vantaa Energia’s production were to be directed to the residents of Vantaa.

The company’s legal assessment is also clear: Vantaan Energia cannot sell self-produced electricity to the people of Vantaa at a different price than Oomi sells.

“After all, we all want to stop speculating on electricity prices, but the country’s government hasn’t come up with solutions that would improve the situation,” Niikko criticized.

The center in the council’s initiative, a model will be taken from Helen and Oom or Vantaan Energia will be forced to offer a reasonably priced electricity product at 20 cents per kilowatt hour. The initiative had numerous signatories from different council groups.

Oomi’s marketing and communications manager Minna Korhonen replies by email that Oomi acquires all electricity sold to customers at market prices at the price of the Nordic electricity exchange.

“Oomi treats its customers equally, and we offer opportunities for similar services without regional restrictions or benefits”, Korhonen comments on the possibility of customizing a different price for Vantaa, for example.

The company monitors the country’s government’s decisions on possible electricity price support mechanisms.

Oomi’s opportunities to sell electricity at a loss are limited because the sales company does not have its own production capacity. A loss-making sale could swallow the company’s own funds to such a low levelthat the shareholders, i.e. ultimately the municipalities, should start capitalizing Oomi.

Vantaa CEO of Energia Jukka Toivonen is the chairman of Oomi’s board of directors. He says that, of course, there has been talk of temporary fixed-price electricity products. Toivonen cannot specify price information.

He still believes that establishing a separate electricity sales company was a sensible move.

“The long-term prospects are such that Vantaa Energia’s capital would not have been enough to develop and market new products for retail sale. Vantaan Energia would be helplessly too small a player in the market,” says Toivonen.

The sales company Oomi is Finland’s second largest electricity seller in terms of number of customers. Its shareholders are the energy companies of Oulu, Oulu region, Pori, Lahti and Vantaa. In addition, Tornion Energia, Haukiputaa eleksoosuuskunta, Raahen Energia, Rantakairan Sähkö and Tenergia are partners through Oulu sähkönmnytti oy.