Why could there be power outages?
Russia's war against Ukraine has been destabilising the energy market. Electricity production must be constantly equal to its consumption. Therefore the greatest risk for power cuts occurs on frost days with no wind. If Finland's own electricity production and imports would not be able to match consumption then, it may be that electricity distribution is restricted. In that case Finland's electricity transmission operator Fingrid would instruct local distribution companies to cut off power.
Such rolling blackouts would be the last resort during electricity shortage. Before that the aim would be, for example, to save electricity in many ways and to start reserve power stations meant for situations of disruption. In the light of current knowledge regional rolling blackouts would last two hours at the most. Further information on the subject is directly available on Fingrid's webpages or from your local distribution company.
Communication networks require electricity in order to work, so if realized, disruptions to electricity distribution would reflect also on them. DNA has secured electricity supply to its mobile networks in accordance with regulations but during a two-hour power cut regional service levels diminish significantly, or data connections may be cut off completely.
Effects on DNA's services
DNA's networks and their power supply in Finland have been built in accordance with laws and regulations. During a two-hour regional rolling blackout the basic services of DNA mobile network, that is telephone calls and text messages, would work normally. In the power cut area data connections in the fixed network may not work at all and in the mobile network, regional service level may diminish significantly, or data connections may be cut off completely. The effects on mobile network may also occur in areas surrounding the power cut area. When electricity supply is restored also data services revert to normal.
The required back-up time of back-up power supply varies from 15 minutes to 12 hours depending on the priority classification of communications networks and services. Electricity supply for critical functions has been secured for several days with the help of stand-by generators. In normal circumstances power cuts and disruptions are very short lasting less than 15 minutes. Internationally, provisioning for disruptions in power supply to communications networks is exceptionally good in Finland.
Power outages may also cause congestion in DNA's customer service.
This is how you can prepare for power outages
In the event of a possible power outage, you should follow the information from the authorities and electricity companies.
You can prepare for power outages by keeping your phone and backup power source charged. During a two-hour power outage, you can make calls and send text messages normally with your phone, but you can only access the Internet to a very limited extent. Devices that use electricity, such as computers, home WiFi routers and televisions, will not work. If the power outage is known in advance, you can disconnect sensitive IT equipment, such as the modem, from the wall even before the outage, just to be sure.
Companies should note that backup power is rarely available in typically office or production buildings, so all work that requires electricity has to be paused for the duration of a power outage. Companies should look at the possibility of decentralizing their operations regionally, anticipate the effects of an outage on business and find out the availability of backup power.
The outages caused by a wider power shortage would last a maximum of two hours, after which internet connections return to normal. In possible problem situations, for example with the modem, you should first try restarting the device. Power outages may cause congestion for DNA's customer service.
If electricity outage cuts connections
If the working of equipment at home or at a business is disrupted because of electricity shortage, the first thing to do is to find out what your own electricity company has informed about the situation. When the power cut is over, you must ensure that the equipment is connected to power and if necessary, switch the equipment on again.
As a rule, customers do not need to contact DNA customer service because of a power cut. Changes in the working of connections monitored by DNA are automatically detected at DNA and necessary steps to restore connections are taken without customer contacts. The same applies to devices of corporate customers, which are monitored by DNA
Please note! The recovery of equipment from a power outages can may take a little while. Device and connection specific recovery time depends on the scale of the interruption.