At its best, electrification can create more than 20,000 jobs in Finland, up to half of which may not be created if the bottlenecks in electricity distribution network investments are not resolved in time. This is shown in a report, published by Finnish Energy, Local Power and Urban Energy Finland, which examines the effects of electrification on electricity distribution networks and on Finland’s growth and employment.
“Finland has excellent opportunities to be the European champion of the energy transition and to achieve much-needed growth and well-being from investments enabled by clean electricity. However, this is only possible if the investment capacity of electricity network companies is taken care of,” says Jukka Leskelä, Managing Director of Finnish Energy.
The report prepared by the consulting company AFRY assesses the investment conditions of electricity distribution network companies, their investment capacity within the framework of the current network monitoring methods, and the impacts of the investments on the national economy.
According to the report, as electrification progresses in the baseline scenario alone, electricity demand in distribution networks will increase by 40 % by 2040, which will require investments of more than one billion euros annually in the distribution networks. However, the report finds that the control methods that set the financial framework for electricity network companies significantly limit the companies’ ability to invest. In the baseline scenario, the deficit is as much as EUR 500 million per year.
“Distribution network operators would have the prerequisites to identify the investments required by electrification in their development plans, but the current control methods do not enable their proactive implementation. Therefore, the control methods must be updated to enable timely capacity and expansion investments without the risk of a structural funding gap. If this is not addressed, there is a risk that electrification and the related growth and employment effects will not be realised,” says Annukka Saari, Executive Director of Local Power.
The current legislation on electricity distribution networks does not take into account society’s growth targets or national climate and energy targets, nor the need for the development of electricity networks required by them.
“The Electricity Market Act must be updated to take into account the nationally set goals for growth and security of supply. This requires a solid backbone from politicians. This will also give the authority a strong backing to update its control methods to meet the needs for change. As a result, a significant number of new investments and jobs will be repatriated. In addition, connecting new production and consumption to the grid will ultimately make the distribution fees paid by consumers more reasonable,” says Eero Haapalehto, Executive Director of Urban Energy Finland.
The report was prepared by the consulting company AFRY. It was presented at an invitation-only event held in Helsinki on 13 May 2026.