Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo announced on wednesday that there has been an outage in a power cable linking finland and estonia beneath the Baltic Sea. He mentioned on X that the Estlink-2 cable has stopped transmitting power, and investigations are underway. Orpo reassured that Finland's electricity supply will not be affected by this disruption.
Estonian network operator Elering confirmed that estonia has enough spare capacity to satisfy power demand, as stated by public broadcaster ERR. Recent incidents involving data cables have raised concerns about undersea infrastructure in the Baltic region.
In November, two data cables were cut: one linking finland and Germany, and the other connecting lithuania and Sweden. Germany's defense minister suggested these might have been acts of sabotage, although no evidence or identifying parties have emerged. This remark was made during a discussion regarding hybrid warfare threats from Russia.
The Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, which supplied gas from russia to Germany, were damaged by underwater explosions in september 2022. Authorities have classified this as sabotage and launched criminal investigations into the incident.
Earlier this year, the Estlink-2 cable experienced problems due to a short circuit. ERR reported that the cable's complex positioning might have led to the issue, requiring significant repairs.
Authorities continue to be alert to possible threats against critical infrastructure in the region. The recent events underline vulnerabilities and the necessity for improved security measures to safeguard these essential connections.
Ongoing investigations aim to determine the cause of the current outage and ensure stable power transmission between finland and Estonia. This situation highlights the necessity of maintaining strong infrastructure in the Baltic region.
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