Last year, the energy company Helen, owned by the City of Helsinki, produced almost 90 percent of its district heating with fossil fuels. The Salmisaari power plant also burns wood pellets among coal.
The City of Helsinki’s energy company has raised district heating prices considerably more than other large cities. At the same time, Helen has paid almost EUR 280 million in dividends to her owner. Prior to the sharp rise in fuel prices, Helen has not had to innovate and the city has hardly intervened in her company’s line.
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Helsinki residents district heating users may have cooled this fall. In September, the city’s own energy company Helen announced a 30 percent price increase for district heating for the rest of the year. The issue affects almost every Helsinki resident.
Admittedly, the one-time raise is just one among many. In fact, the price of district heating has risen more in Helsinki over the past decade than in any of Finland’s ten largest cities.
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