Quarter-hourly pricing
Finland will adopt quarter-hourly electricity pricing on 1 October 2025. The change will be implemented across Europe to make our electricity system more efficient and flexible. How will this affect the daily lives of electricity consumers?
What is this about?
From hourly to quarter-hourly pricing
In Finland, 15-minute pricing intervals will be adopted for electricity spot prices on 1 October 2025. The change will be applied automatically to new contracts that follow spot electricity pricing, while existing Fortum spot price contracts will be included in the quarter-hourly pricing model later this year. We will contact our customers before updating existing contracts.
The same timing principles will continue to apply going forward
You can reduce your electricity bill by timing your consumption to align it with the low-cost hours of the day. The key is to time your highest electricity consumption based on prices and avoid peak rates. However, there’s no need to stress about every single 15-minute interval.
The possibility to schedule consumption more precisely
With the transition to quarter-hourly measurement, electricity consumption can be managed more precisely, and according to estimates, it may even become easier to avoid peak rates and schedule consumption.
Quarter-hourly pricing and measurement in a nutshell
Quarter-hourly pricing means that the electricity spot price is updated every 15 minutes. The shift is happening across Europe, contributing to electricity grid stability and making it easier to manage consumption.
Quarter-hourly measurement means that electricity consumption is measured every 15 minutes. This provides a more detailed overall picture of how and when electricity is used. More information about the implementation timeline and electricity meter upgrades will be provided towards the end of this article.
How does quarter-hourly pricing work in practice?
The logic behind quarter-hourly pricing is otherwise similar to that of electricity contracts based on hourly prices, but going forward, prices may update more frequently: every 15 minutes within 24 hours. This means there can be up to 96 different electricity prices within 24 hours. As before, electricity spot prices will continue to be determined by supply and demand through Nord Pool, the joint Nordic electricity exchange.
Who does the change affect?
The transition to quarter-hourly pricing affects customers with spot electricity contracts and those whose contract includes a consumption impact element.
Do you have a Fortum Kesto contract or a fixed-price electricity contract? In that case, daily electricity price fluctuations will not affect your costs.
Timeline for Fortum’s current and new customers
Spot price electricity contracts
Customers who sign a contract after 1 October 2025 will be subject to quarter-hourly pricing from the start of their agreement.
Contracts signed before October 2025
will switch to quarter-hourly pricing later this year. We will contact our customers before updating existing contracts.
Contracts including a consumption impact element
For Duo consumption impact contracts signed after 5 February 5 2025, the consumption impact will be based on 15-minute pricing intervals starting on 1 October 2025.
For Duo consumption impact contracts signed before 5 February 2025, the consumption impact will continue to be calculated on an hourly basis until the end of the contract period.
Electricity meter upgrade for quarter-hourly measurement
Electricity network companies are responsible for upgrading electricity meters.
Quarter-hourly measurement requires a more modern electricity meter, which we currently estimate to be in place for around half our customers. If your meter does not yet support quarter-hourly measurement, your consumption will be distributed evenly across each hour in 15-minute intervals. New electricity meters will be installed gradually in all Finnish homes by the end of 2028. No action is required from consumers, as the electricity network companies are responsible for upgrading the meters.
FAQ: quarter-hourly electricity pricing
EU legislation requires electricity consumption to be measured every 15 minutes across Europe to make the electricity system more flexible and better suited to the current needs of our society. On a practical level, switching to quarter-hourly measurement makes it easier to balance the power grid. For power grids to function properly, the amount of electricity produced must match the amount being consumed at any given time so as not to cause outages or disruptions in the electricity system.
Today, the need for demand response is high in the electricity market, as our energy production increasingly relies on weather-dependent forms of production such as wind power. The purpose of quarter-hourly pricing is to support grid balancing, and the pricing model will be implemented simultaneously across Europe.
If your meter does not yet support quarter-hourly measurement, electricity will be billed based on hourly prices calculated using the average of the quarter-hourly rates starting from 1 October 2025.
You can check if your home meter measures electricity consumption every hour or every 15 minutes by following these instructions:
1) Log in to Fingrid’s Datahub service (fingrid.fi/datahub):
2) Go to “Time Step” on the “Location of Use” tab
If PT15M is indicated, the measurement is performed every 15 minutes
If PT1H is indicated, the measurement continues to be performed hourly
No. Your local electricity network company is responsible for upgrading your home electricity meter.
The same general principles for timing electricity use as before will continue to apply: demand is typically higher in the mornings and evenings, which means prices are usually elevated during those times.
Going forward, it’s still a good idea to time your electricity use to coincide with the low-cost hours of the day, especially when charging an electric car, using the sauna and running washing machines.
Switching to quarter-hourly pricing does not mean you will need to monitor electricity prices every 15 minutes. Price trends should be monitored on a general level.
Electricity billing will continue to be based on the kilowatt-hours consumed.
Customers who sign a contract after 1 October 2025 will be subject to quarter-hourly pricing from the beginning of October.
Contracts signed before October 2025 will switch to quarter-hourly pricing later this year. We will contact our customers before updating existing contracts.
For Duo consumption impact contracts signed after 5 February 5 2025, the consumption impact will be based on 15-minute pricing intervals following the implementation of quarter-hourly pricing.
For Duo consumption impact contracts signed before 5 February 2025, the consumption impact will continue to be calculated on an hourly basis.
Billing for the Kesto contract will remain unchanged.
The value of the surplus electricity you sell to Fortum will continue to be deducted from your electricity bill.
Small-scale electricity production will be measured in 15-minute intervals if your electricity meter supports them, or in hourly intervals if your electricity meter measures consumption hourly.
All electricity meters will be upgraded to new meters supporting 15-minute intervals by the electricity network companies by the end of 2028. More information about the schedule is available from your electricity network company.