The repair of the EstLink 2 cable, which connects Finland and Estonia, will cost more than 30 million euros, reports the Finnish publication Kauppalehti, citing a representative of the Fingrid company, Arto Pahkinen.
According to him, the cost of restoring the damaged electric cable will exceed this amount. The company expects the work to take about seven months, although the exact timeline will be determined next week. Meanwhile, Fingrid CEO Tuomas Rauhala said that the repair costs will be shared between the two countries. He noted that the initial cost of the cable when it was purchased was nearly 200 million euros, meaning that the repair will cost more than 10% of that amount.
The EstLink 2 cable was disconnected on December 25. It is suspected that the damage occurred due to the anchor of the Eagle S vessel, registered in the Cook Islands. Finnish police also suspect that the vessel may have been involved in the transport of Russian energy resources, although no evidence has been found.
The incident is being investigated as a case of causing damage under aggravating circumstances, with the investigation being led by the Finnish National Criminal Police. Two power transmission cables have been laid between Finland and Estonia. EstLink 1, with a capacity of 350 MW, was launched in 2006, while EstLink 2, with a capacity of 650 MW, was launched in 2014. The second cable includes converter stations in both countries and over 170 kilometers of direct current lines, about 145 kilometers of which are laid underwater.
