Nord Pool

On Nord Pool's day-ahead market, producers submit sales offers and buyers (retailers, industry) submit buy orders. The algorithm matches them so that every hour finds a balance between demand and supply. The lowest offers win — the most expensive drop out.

The price signal is extremely useful: it steers consumption to the cheapest hours (usually at night, on weekends) and producers to shift generation to the most expensive hours (morning and evening peaks).

In addition to Nord Pool there is an intraday market (Elbas) for short-notice corrections and the balancing market operated by Fingrid to maintain real-time balance.

For households the most important Nord Pool product is the Finnish area price FI, which sets the hourly price in spot contracts.

Nord Pool history and ownership

Nord Pool was founded in 1996 in Norway and expanded step by step to Sweden, Finland (1998), Denmark and the Baltics. Owners are regional TSOs: Fingrid (Finland), Statnett (Norway), Svenska kraftnät (Sweden), Energinet (Denmark) and the Baltic TSOs. The company is non-profit — pricing covers costs, not returns to shareholders.

Nord Pool handles about 1 000 TWh of electricity annually, roughly 90 % of Nordic consumption. Over 360 companies from 20 countries operate on the exchange.

How the Nord Pool price forms in practice

The day-ahead auction closes at 12:00 CET (13:00 Finnish time). The exchange publishes results between 12:42–13:00 CET. This means all 24 hourly prices for the next day are known by 14:00 Finnish time.

The Verrokit tomorrow's price page shows these prices as soon as the exchange publishes them — letting you schedule e.g. EV charging or sauna to the right hours.

Nord Pool and Nordic electricity imports

Finland has been a net importer since 2010. We import mainly from Sweden (FennoSkan 1,200 MW) and Estonia (EstLink 1 and 2, 1,000 MW combined). A smaller link to Norway exists too.

On cold winter days Finnish production does not cover consumption — Nord Pool price signals import from Swedish and Estonian hydro. When transmission capacity fills, the Finnish area price diverges and rises above the neighbours.