How to Switch Electricity Provider in Finland: Step by Step
Switching electricity providers in Finland costs nothing and needs no notice to your old supplier. This guide covers the käyttöpaikkatunnus (POD ID), the Datahub 14-day timeline, the cooling-off right, and a worked example showing ~€830/year in savings.
Switching electricity providers in Finland is simpler than most people expect. You don't need to call your old supplier, pay a penalty, or wait for a billing cycle to end. Sign a new contract with a competitor and Fingrid's Datahub system handles the rest. The process trips people up mainly because of unfamiliar terms — käyttöpaikkatunnus, Datahub, irtisanomisaika — not because it's genuinely complicated. This guide walks through all of it plainly.
What switching actually means in Finland
The Finnish electricity market splits into two separate services: grid transfer (siirto) and electricity supply (myynti). Your local grid company owns the cables running to your home and bills you for using them. The electricity retailer sells you the energy itself. The Electricity Market Act 588/2013 requires these two activities to be legally separated, which is why Finnish households get two bills every month.
When you switch electricity providers, you change only the retailer. Your grid company stays the same — it's a geographic monopoly you can't choose. Mainland Finland has about 77 distribution grid operators listed in the Energiavirasto register. The three largest (Caruna, Elenia, Helen Sähköverkko) cover more than 40% of customers combined.
Käyttöpaikkatunnus: what it is and where to find it
Käyttöpaikkatunnus is the 20-digit Point of Delivery (POD) ID that uniquely identifies your metering point inside Fingrid's Datahub system. Most retailers ask for it when you set up a new contract, though some can look it up from your address automatically.
You'll find your käyttöpaikkatunnus in three places:
- On the front page of your current grid transfer bill — it's usually labelled clearly.
- Inside your grid company's online customer portal.
- At palvelut.datahub.fi — log in with Finnish bank credentials (verkkopankkitunnukset) and your metering points appear immediately.
If you have more than one metering point — say, a separate sauna building — each has its own käyttöpaikkatunnus. You'll need a separate contract for each one.
Datahub and the 14-day switch window
Fingrid's Datahub is the central data exchange platform for the Finnish electricity market. It went live on 21 February 2022 and now covers roughly four million metering points. When you sign a contract with a new retailer, they file the switch request through Datahub. Your grid company confirms it automatically.
From the notification date, the switch takes roughly 14 days. During this window your consumption data is transferred to the new retailer and billing flips on the agreed start date. Nothing is required from you in this period.
Your old retailer receives an automatic notification through Datahub — you don't need to send a separate cancellation notice unless you're locked into a fixed-term contract.
Notice periods: what your contract type decides
The Electricity Market Act 588/2013, section 69, caps the notice period for open-ended household supply contracts at three weeks. In practice most retailers use the shorter 14-day standard.
Fixed-term contracts are a different matter. If your contract runs until, say, year-end, breaking it early can trigger a termination fee — check the terms before switching. Spot electricity contracts and open-ended agreements are generally free to exit with the short standard notice.
The 14-day cooling-off right
The Consumer Protection Act (38/1978), chapter 6, section 14, gives consumers a 14-day right of withdrawal on contracts signed by phone, online, or at the door. If the retailer failed to deliver written confirmation of the withdrawal terms, the cooling-off period extends to 12 months.
Practically: if you sign a phone contract and regret it the next day, you can cancel for free. Send the cancellation in writing — email is enough — and ask for written confirmation of receipt.
"Has anyone managed to switch electricity providers without speaking Finnish? The Datahub website is a nightmare to navigate without Google Translate."
Expat-finland.com forum user (2024)
Step by step: how to switch
- Find your käyttöpaikkatunnus on your transfer bill or at palvelut.datahub.fi.
- Compare offers using Energiavirasto's Sähkönhinta.fi tool or directly on retailer websites. Focus on total cost, not just the energy price.
- Sign a new contract with your chosen retailer. Provide your käyttöpaikkatunnus and the agreed start date.
- Wait for confirmation. The retailer processes the Datahub notification; you'll receive email confirmation within a few days.
- Check after 14 days at palvelut.datahub.fi that the new contract is registered and the old retailer has gone.
- Pay the final bill from your old retailer for the period up to the switchover — the old contract ends automatically and needs no further action.
One thing most guides won't tell you: winter can be the best time to switch
Most advice says switch in summer, when consumption is low and prices are calm. The reality is that winter often brings more competitive offers, because retailers want to lock in large-consumption customers before peak season. Spot contracts are also most attractive when market prices are high — if you can lock a fixed price before a price spike, the saving is greatest.
This won't always pan out, but it's worth watching the market actively as autumn approaches, not just once a year in July.
"Sainko mä taas jotain sähkösopimuksen, enkä tiedä edes miltä firmalta? Mitä mun kannattaa tehdä?" (Did I get yet another electricity contract, and I don't even know from which company? What should I do?)
Flashback forum user, thread t3558261
Worked example: a 20,000 kWh detached house in Caruna's area
Take an electrically heated detached house, annual consumption 20,000 kWh, in Caruna's distribution network, general transfer tariff 3×25 A. The table compares the grid operator's default supply tariff (open-ended contract) against a competitive market offer in 2025.
| Item | Default supplier (€/yr) | Competitive offer (€/yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Grid transfer (base fee + energy fee) | 1,406 | 1,406 |
| Electricity tax (2.253 c/kWh, excl. VAT) | 451 | 451 |
| Electricity supply (energy price) | 1,800 | 970 |
| Total (incl. 25.5% VAT) | ~€4,596 | ~€3,766 |
The gap is around €830 per year. The competitive figure uses the 2025 average spot price of about 4.05 c/kWh (excl. VAT) as the energy component; the default uses a typical open-ended fixed tariff. Grid transfer costs are identical in both columns because the grid company doesn't change.
In a small flat using 5,000 kWh annually, the proportions shift: grid transfer can take 60–65% of the total bill because the fixed base fee dominates low consumption. The absolute saving from switching is smaller, but still worth tens of euros per year for essentially zero effort.
If something goes wrong: complaints and consumer rights
If the switch stalls — your bill doesn't change, the contract isn't confirmed, or your old retailer keeps invoicing — take these steps:
- Contact your new retailer and ask for the Datahub transaction reference (switch request ID).
- If not resolved within a week, contact Energiavirasto's customer service.
- For billing disputes or suspected contract fraud, file a report with the KKV (Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority). KKV has a track record of acting on aggressive electricity phone sales — in June 2022 it issued a formal reprimand against Nordic Green Energy (decision KKV/1465/14.08.01.05/2021) for misleading phone contract tactics.
Sources
- Electricity Market Act 588/2013 — §69 notice period cap, §77 unbundling requirement
- Consumer Protection Act 38/1978 — ch. 6 §14 cooling-off right
- Fingrid Datahub — launch 21.2.2022, ~4M metering points
- Energiavirasto — electricity supplier register, ~77 distribution operators mainland Finland
- Energiavirasto — network regulation, WACC 7.61% 2025
- Caruna — general transfer 3×25 A price list (1.9.2024)
- Spot electricity average price 2025 — ~4.05 c/kWh (excl. VAT)
- Energiavirasto — national electricity market report 2023 (~15% of households switched)
- KKV — Nordic Green Energy decision 9.6.2022 (KKV/1465/14.08.01.05/2021)
- Fingrid palvelut.datahub.fi — customer portal, contracts and metering points