Third Power Line between Russia and Finland to Be Installed at End of November

November 2002 will see the completion of work to bring a third power line between Vyborg and Finland into use. The line will carry alternating current from the Vyborg conversion plant to the Kymi substation in Finland. The press office of RAO UES (United Energy Systems of Russia), Russia's electricity network, announced on Wednesday that the construction of the third line is being carried out within the framework of an agreement between the Russian electricity holding and Fingrid Oy, the Finnish national grid company. The agreement provides for cooperation in developing the electricity network between the two countries. The document also establishes a set of rules which applies to all buyers and sellers of Russian electricity. These rules are based on the working practices of the Scandinavian NordPool electrical power exchange.

The third line will allow the capacity of the Russian-Finnish link from the Vyborg conversion plant to be increased to 1400 MW. In November tests will be carried out on the line, and on January 1, 2003 it will be brought into permanent use.