RAO Nordic, a Russian energy supplier, has announced that it will suspend electricity deliveries to Finland beginning on Saturday, citing payment issues.
According to the company, it had not been paid for previous deliveries.
According to the Finnish grid operator, Russia supplied only a small portion of the country’s electricity, which could be replaced by alternative sources.
Russia threatened to take “retaliatory measures” after Finland announced its intention to join Nato on Thursday.
Finland has a 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) border with Russia and has previously avoided joining Nato in order to avoid antagonising its eastern neighbour. However, public support for Nato membership has increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland is expected to formally announce its intention to join the EU on Sunday.
Rao Nordic’s decision is not explicitly linked to Finland’s decision.
“This situation is exceptional and occurred for the first time in over twenty years of our trading history,” the Russian state-owned firm stated.
Neither Rao Nordic nor Fingrid, Finland’s grid operator, explained what was causing the payment issues.
Last month, Russia cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland because they refused to pay in roubles, which they claimed would violate Western sanctions.
Russia’s Gazprom announced this week that it would no longer supply gas through the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline.
Fingrid said it did not expect electricity shortages as a result of the shut off, as only around 10% of Finland’s electricity is supplied from Russia.
“The lack of electricity import from Russia will be compensated by importing more electricity from Sweden and by generating more electricity in Finland,” said Reima Päivinen, senior vice president of power system operations at Fingrid.
