Licences for electricity imports were removed only this year, and thus energy imports are no longer controlled by the Government. Energy prices are determined in general by the markets and the Government does not interfere in price setting or mechanisms. Transmission prices of electricity are, however, kept under surveillance by a new electricity market regulator due to the monopoly nature of that business. Pricing for the network services has to be reasonable and fair, but without recourse to regulations, for instance on permissible rates of return. The Finnish Electricity Act has undergone an overall revision, the aim of which has been further to liberalize power transmission at all voltages, i.e. local distribution lines included.
Any producer can sell electricity to any end-user or retailer throughout the whole nation.
This is a real Third Party Access principle. Differentiation of operations and increased transparency of electricity prices and costs support that goal. The Act entered into force at the beginning of June 1995. Finland has no statutory scheme for the planning of national electricity capacity. Permits are no longer required even for the very largest plants.