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World desk5 min

Finland Proposes a New Grid-Connection Queue: Where Data Centers Would Rank

Finland has proposed moving many large grid-connection requests from arrival-order processing to twice-yearly batches. Data centers above 1 MW would enter groups ranked partly by location and project readiness, but the measure remains a draft under consultation.
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Not yet. Finland has proposed replacing arrival-order processing for many large electricity-consumption and storage connection requests with twice-yearly allocation rounds. Under the draft, most data centers above 1 MW would be handled in a capacity group, but they would not automatically be placed last: location, project readiness and certain voluntary commitments would affect ranking, and available capacity could allow a request to proceed without delay.

The proposal was still under consultation in the sources reviewed as of October 7, 2026. It should be described as a draft, not an enacted change.

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What Finland has proposed changing

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has proposed an amendment to Finland’s Electricity Market Act (588/2013) covering consumption sites and energy-storage facilities, including requests to expand existing connections. It would apply across transmission, high-voltage distribution and ordinary distribution networks, but not closed distribution networks. Power-plant connections as such are outside the proposal; a mixed-use connection would be classified by its primary intended use. HPP Attorneys’ analysis of the draft describes the proposed categories and allocation rules.

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Instead of processing every covered request as it arrives, the draft would retain year-round arrival-order processing for group 1 and handle groups 2–4 in batches twice a year. The first batch is proposed for no later than December 31, 2027. The change is therefore not a blanket end to first-come, first-served connections: it would create a different process for larger and other specified projects.

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Which group a data center would enter

The proposal sets separate thresholds for data centers alongside thresholds for other consumption sites. The relevant connection capacity determines the category; capacity is not the same as a project’s annual electricity use.

Proposed group Data-center threshold Other covered cases described in the draft Proposed handling
Group 1 Up to 1 MW Consumption sites up to 3 MW; critical consumption sites; specified small or co-located storage Year-round processing in order of arrival
Group 2 Above 1 MW through 10 MW Other consumption sites from 3 MW through 100 MW Twice-yearly batches; ranking would consider location and development stage, with qualifying voluntary commitments as a secondary criterion
Group 3 Above 10 MW Other consumption sites above 100 MW Twice-yearly batches; ranking would consider location and development stage, with qualifying voluntary commitments as a secondary criterion
Group 4 No separate data-center threshold stated Other energy-storage facilities, as described in the draft Twice-yearly batches

These thresholds do not mean every request above 1 MW must wait for a batch: the draft’s categories would not apply where capacity is available to process a request without delay. In a constrained area, however, a data center above 1 MW would not retain the group 1 arrival-order process. If a group’s qualifying requests exceed the capacity available, the draft analysis says the remaining capacity would be allocated equally.

What could improve a larger project’s ranking

For group 2 or group 3 applicants, the draft would allow one or both of two voluntary commitments. They are distinct options with different thresholds and conditions.

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Flexibility commitment

An applicant could commit to make flexible generation or demand response available through an organized marketplace at a level of at least 10% of the site’s peak demand. For a group 3 data center, a commitment covering 80% of peak power would permit reclassification into group 2, according to HPP Attorneys’ account of the draft. The 80% figure is a separate threshold for group 3 data-center reclassification, not the general 10% flexibility requirement.

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New-generation commitment

An applicant could commit to source at least 50% of the site’s estimated annual consumption from a new power plant. The plant would need to be commissioned no more than 36 months before the consumption site and located in the same transmission congestion area.

HPP Attorneys says these commitments would last for the connection’s lifespan. If a material failure remained unremedied, the operator could terminate the agreement; a new request for the same connection point could then be assigned to group 4 for five years. Those are draft terms, not final statutory requirements.

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Why location and capacity matter

Finland does not have one uniform pool of grid capacity that guarantees access at any chosen site. Fingrid says available capacity depends on the connection location and other regional projects; connectivity and main-grid capacity are confirmed at the agreement stage. Its connection guidance calls for early technical discussions and says relevant planning and permits are required before a main-grid connection agreement. That makes grid access an early site-planning question, but does not establish how a particular application would rank under the proposal.

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Fingrid reported in September 2025 that southern Finland faced grid-connection capacity shortages and that new transmission infrastructure was expected to increase capacity. It also reported several thousand megawatts of storage connection capacity elsewhere, particularly in Ostrobothnia and northern Finland. These are operator-reported conditions from 2025, not a current, site-specific capacity map.

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Fingrid also reported more than 30,000 MW of energy-storage connection requests in September 2025—approximately twice Finland’s all-time peak electricity consumption—and said it had signed contracts for around 1,800 MW of grid-storage connections as of that month. These figures illustrate the scale of requests and contracted storage connections at that time; neither indicates how much capacity is now available to a particular data-center project. Fingrid’s September 2025 update gives the dated figures.

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Status, proposed dates and existing requests

HPP Attorneys reports that the Ministry sent the draft amendment for consultation on September 18, 2026, with consultation closing October 9, 2026. Data Center Dynamics reports a proposed effective date of January 1, 2027, and a first allocation round in December 2027. The sources reviewed do not establish that the amendment has been enacted, so neither the effective date nor the allocation round should be treated as confirmed. Data Center Dynamics’ report describes the proposed timetable.

The draft could also reach requests made before its entry into force if no binding connection agreement had been concluded by then. A project with preparatory investments but no binding agreement could therefore face a different process if the proposal became law. The draft does not provide a site-by-site ranking or guarantee that a particular project will receive capacity.

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What a data-center developer should assess

For a proposed site, the draft points to a practical set of questions—not a guaranteed route to a connection:

  • Connection size: Is the request up to 1 MW, above 1 MW through 10 MW, or above 10 MW? The answer would determine the proposed data-center group unless a relevant reclassification applies.
  • Local grid conditions: What capacity is available at the exact connection location, and what other regional projects affect it? Fingrid’s published figures are dated and cannot answer this for an individual site.
  • Project readiness: How developed is the project? Location and development stage would inform ranking in groups 2 and 3.
  • Commitment feasibility: Could the project meet the flexibility or new-generation conditions, including the relevant percentage, marketplace, timing and congestion-area requirements?
  • Agreement status: Is there already a binding connection agreement? The draft’s proposed treatment of existing requests distinguishes those with an agreement from those without one.
  • Network and approvals: Which operator and network level are involved, and are the technical discussions, planning and permits needed for the connection in progress?

HPP Attorneys also reports Fingrid’s forecast that data-center investments alone could increase Finland’s total electricity consumption by up to 40% over the next five years. This is an attributed forecast reported in 2026 legal analysis, not a measured increase or a guarantee of how demand will develop. It helps explain why the Ministry is proposing a more structured allocation process, but does not establish that all data centers will be delayed or denied connections.

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