Helen Electricity Network customer consultation: the electricity network must enable the clean transition
More than 80 per cent of Helsinki residents expect the electricity network to enable the clean transition, according to Helen Electricity Network’s customer consultation. More than half of respondents also, somewhat surprisingly, considered the reliability of the electricity network to be more important than the price of electricity distribution. The consultation conducted in May received more than 11,500 responses.
Households in particular believe that the electricity network should enable the clean transition. Only a small proportion of respondents disagreed with this statement.
The results indicate support for the development of the electricity network at a time when society is rapidly electrifying. At the same time, security of supply is seen as important, as more than half of respondents consider the reliability of the network to be even more important than the price of electricity distribution.
– Based on the results, customers expect the electricity network to provide both reliability and the ability to meet growing demand for electricity. The clean transition is largely based on electrification, in which increasing electricity transmission capacity plays a key role, says Markus Lehtonen, CEO of Helen Electricity Network.
Electricity consumption is growing rapidly in Helsinki
Electricity consumption in Helsinki is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. According to Helen Electricity Network’s estimate, consumption could even double from 2024 levels by 2030. Demand for electricity is driven in particular by the electrification of heating, transport and port operations, as well as the projected growth of data centres. The customer consultation also anticipates growth in customers’ own electricity consumption. Overall, the increase in consumption is expected to be particularly concentrated among large electricity users.
Growing electricity consumption requires investment in network capacity and renewal. Helen Electricity Network is planning, among other things, the construction of a high-voltage 400 kilovolt network in Helsinki. The aim is to ensure that electricity can be transmitted reliably to where it is needed.
– Electricity network investments are made years in advance to ensure the network can meet future demand. Sufficient capacity is a prerequisite for the clean transition to be realised in practice, Lehtonen continues.
The energy transition places new demands on the electricity network at the same time as ageing infrastructure requires renewal. The results of the customer consultation support the long-term development of the electricity network, with the aim of safeguarding increasing electricity use and enabling the clean transition.
Source: Customer consultation for Helen Electricity Network’s development plan. The development plan describes how Helen Electricity Network will develop Helsinki’s electricity network in the coming years to meet future needs. The plan takes into account the clean transition in the energy sector as well as regional characteristics, such as urban growth, the dense urban environment and the large number of critical customers essential to the functioning of society. Distribution system operators are required to submit a development plan for the electricity distribution network to the Energy Authority.
About Helen Electricity Network’s customer consultation:
- Conducted as an online survey every two years
- The survey was open from 30 April to 31 May 2026
- n = 11,730 respondents, of whom nearly 90% were households