Russia said it would cut off electricity to Finland starting Saturday, as it claims the country has not paid, a state-owned power company said.
RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Inter ROA, said it would stop exporting electricity to Finland and would not provide specifics amid larger tensions across Europe beset by the Russia-Ukraine War.
RAO Nordic said in a statement that the situation was exceptional and happened for the first time in over twenty years of our trading history.
According to the report, Finnish grid operator Fingrid said that electrical services, which account for 10% of the country's total consumption, were stopped at 1 a.m. local time.
Missing imports can be replaced by importing more electricity from Sweden and importing domestic production, according to the company.
According to the report, Fingrid is not involved in the dispute.
Fingrid's senior-vice president, Reima Paivinen, told the outlet that they provided the transfer from Russia to Finland.
The paused payments could be linked to previous demands by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who demanded countries pay gas fees in rubles, Russia's national currency.
Russia is facing tighter international economic sanctions as a result of the demand.
The Finnish government said last month it would not pay for Russian gas supplies in rubles.
Nord Pool didn't say anything about the rubles requirement, but it said: "We have never had settlements in rubles, only in euros, Norwegian crowns, Swedish crowns, and Danish crowns, in line with our standard procedures. Finland, who has traditionally remained neutral, has tried to join NATO, escalating tensions with Russia.
On Thursday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said their country was seeking to join NATO without delay. NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security. Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance, as a member of NATO, the leaders said.