Prepare for power outages – familiarise yourself with preparedness recommendations and follow announcements
If electricity consumption is higher than production, this can lead to short, controlled power outages. The greatest risk of electricity shortages is in December–March. It is important for every Vantaa resident to prepare for possible power outages in advance.
Avoid using electricity especially during peak consumption times, i.e. on weekdays at 8:00−10:00 and 16:00−20:00. This way you are involved in preventing electricity shortages.
Rotating power outages are the last resort to avoid a major disturbance
An electricity shortage occurs when electricity production and imports are not enough to cover consumption. In this case, consumption has to be temporarily restricted. In practice, this means that the Finnish transmission system operator Fingrid may have to make a decision on regional, controlled power outages. Rotating power outages are used to prevent the entire Finnish electricity system from collapsing. In Vantaa, this would mean short power outages lasting no more than two hours.
A power outage may be announced in advance, or it may start unexpectedly. At the national level, information about electricity shortages is provided by Fingrid and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
Local distribution system operators and the media publish information and guidelines about electricity shortages. The electricity network company operating in the Vantaa area is Vantaa Energy Electricity Networks Ltd. Vantaa Energy Electricity Networks reports on the situation in Vantaa on its own website and social media channels. In Vantaa, outages are also announced by text message. Subscribe to Vantaa Energy’s message service for outages.
Efforts will be made to avoid power outages affecting consumers for as long as possible. Before power outages, a number of other measures will be taken, such as starting up reserve power plants intended to offset disturbances. In the event of an electricity shortage, critical locations, such as hospitals, rescue operations and critical infrastructures related to survival, are excluded from the outages.
Prepare for a power outage
In normal circumstances, short power outages can occur unpredictably, for example due to storms or technical faults. It is important to be prepared for power outages.
According to the instructions of the authorities and NGOs, every household should be prepared to cope independently for at least three days, or 72 hours, should a disturbance occur. The food, drink and medicine stored at home in case of an emergency is called the home emergency kit. You can read more about preparedness on the Power Outage – 72 Hours website, for example.
What to do if the power goes out
- Switch off electrical devices. It is especially important to turn off the stove, iron, coffee maker and washing machine. That way they will not start a fire when the power comes back on.
- Avoid using water and the toilet during a power outage.
- Do not discharge water into the drain. Use, for example, a bucket under the tap if you need to run water.
- Do not open the freezer and fridge unnecessarily.
- Do not call the emergency number to report the power outage.
Vantaa Energy’s instructions in case of a power outage (in Finnish).
HSY’s instructions on the use of water in case of a power outage.
InfoFinland – information on saving energy and electricity shortages in multiple languages.