EstLink 2 is the second high-voltage direct current (HVDC) connection between Estonia and Finland, significantly increasing electricity transmission capacity between the Baltic and Nordic regions.
EstLink 2 is owned by Estonian company Elering AS and Finnish company Fingrid Oyj in equal parts. With a capacity of 650 MW, it covers up to half of Estonia's winter electricity demand, effectively integrating Estonia and Finland into a single market. The total length of EstLink 2 is approximately 170 km.
On 25 December, EstLink 2 suffered an emergency shutdown due to suspected external damage. Since then, preparations for repairing the damaged subsea cable have been ongoing, but key challenges remain.
According to Elering, preparations for the repair work were expected to begin in March with the fault scheduled to be fixed by 1 August. However, as of late January, Fingrid had not yet secured a suitable vessel, raising concerns about potential delays. The damage, suspected to have been caused by the detained oil tanker Eagle S, has significantly impacted electricity transmission. Repair costs are expected to reach tens of millions of euros, similar to the €30 million repair of EstLink 2's previous failure.
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