A Russian company has announced that it will stop supplying Finland with electricity

Russian energy company RAO Nordic said on Friday it would suspend electricity supplies to Finland from Saturday, citing payment issues.

According to the company, he was not paid for previous deliveries.

Finnish grid operator Vingrid said Russia only supplies a small percentage of the electricity consumed in the country and can be replaced by other sources.

Thusday Russia has threatened Finland with retaliation for joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

According to a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the measures taken by the Scandinavian country will seriously harm its bilateral relations, as well as the security and stability of Northern Europe.

Finland shares a 1,300 km border with Russia and has stayed out of NATO so as not to upset its eastern neighbor.

However, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, popular support has grown in the Scandinavian country to join NATO.

Finland is expected to officially announce its intention to join the military alliance on Sunday..

But RAO Nordic’s decision to cut the electricity was not explicitly linked to this.

“This is an exceptional situation and it is happening for the first time in 20 years of business history,” the Russian state-owned company said.

Neither RAO Nordic nor Fingrid explained the cause of the payment problems.

Last month, Russia cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland after they refused to comply with a demand for payment in roubles, which they say violates Western sanctions.

Russian state-owned Gazprom announced this week that it would stop supplying gas through the Polish part of the Yamal-Europe pipeline.

Fingrid said on Friday that RAO Nordic’s decision should not lead to cuts in the country, because Only 10% of Finnish electricity comes from Russia.

“The lack of electricity imported from Russia will be compensated by importing more from Sweden and producing more in Finland,” explained Rima Bavenen, vice president of power system operations at Fingrid.

On the other hand, as temperatures increase as spring advances, the demand for electricity decreases. It is also expected that more wind power will be generated.

Weingrid added that the nuclear plant, which is expected to open this summer, will more than compensate for the loss of Russian supplies.

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