The Jukola and Venla relays are among the greatest shared experiences of the Finnish summer: the forest, community spirit, endurance and appreciation of nature come together in orienteering – for many, the most anticipated moment of the year. Seuraava year this highlight will take place in Kotka, when Kotka-Jukola 2026 gathers runners, volunteers and spectators by the sea and the forest for a unique event.
Behind this experience there are many partners – one of them is Fingrid, Finland’s transmission system operator. Its role is invisible yet crucial: to make sure electricity flows across Finland like an unseen bloodstream, bringing light, power and reliability to every moment.
Fingrid’s values – openness, honesty, efficiency and responsibility – fit naturally with the world of Jukola. Both are built on the same foundations: operating in the heart of nature, mutual trust and a desire to create something that will serve all of us for a long time to come. That’s why this partnership is not only about necessity – it grows from a shared way of seeing the world and working for the common good.
We asked Fingrid – Outi Niemi (Communications Specialist) and Senior Specialists for Reserve Markets Antti Hyttinen and Taneli Leiskamo – why the partnership with Kotka-Jukola felt so natural, and how their work appears, often almost unnoticed, in the background of this summer night relay.
Interview
Question 1: Why did Fingrid want to become a partner of Kotka-Jukola?
Outi Niemi:
Fingrid is the transmission system operator for all of Finland. We bring electricity to wherever people in Finland are – so it felt natural to help make an event possible that is such an important part of summer for so many Finns. Through this partnership we want to highlight Fingrid’s role as part of the Finnish power system – the system that keeps the lights on across the country, from Hanko in the south to Ivalo in the north.
This shared set of values is visible on both sides: Kotka-Jukola relies on the conditions working as they should, and Fingrid makes sure that they really do – even in the places where the maps lead far away from built-up areas.
Question 2: What does Fingrid actually do – and why does it matter for Jukola?
Antti Hyttinen:
Fingrid is responsible for the transmission grid – the main high-voltage lines that carry electricity across Finland. We are also responsible for keeping the power system in balance, meaning that electricity production and consumption are equal at every moment. This balancing is done on a market basis, making broad use of flexible resources in Finland, the Nordic countries and the rest of Europe. Through its operations, Fingrid ensures that Finland’s power system ranks among the most reliable in the world. That makes it possible to organise even very large events across the country – including in more remote locations.
From Kotka-Jukola’s point of view this means that the services the event depends on work in a stable and safe way. A major event cannot happen without a reliable power system – just as an orienteering course cannot exist without the interplay between the map and the terrain.
Question 3: What does “system balance” mean in practice?
Antti Hyttinen:
Electricity cannot be stored without limits, so generation and consumption need to match at all times to maintain the grid frequency at 50 hertz. The electricity markets and the actors who participate in them take care of the rough balancing between production and consumption. Fingrid then provides the fine-tuning through the reserve markets we operate, where participants across Finland can offer flexible electricity production or demand. Fingrid monitors the situation 24/7 and is prepared to react to rapid changes. When there is a sudden spike in electricity consumption – at Jukola or anywhere else – the system responds, with the aim that the public won’t notice anything at all.
System balance is like an orienteer’s rhythm in the forest: when it holds, the journey progresses smoothly and under control. Fingrid’s job is to keep that rhythm steady, so that everyday life in Finland – and the events that bring us together – can keep running without disruption.
Question 4: How do nature and transmission corridors show up concretely in connection with Jukola?
Taneli Leiskamo:
For orienteers, substations and transmission corridors are familiar elements of built infrastructure in the middle of nature – landmarks that can even help with locating oneself and choosing a route. It’s clear that power lines affect their surroundings through land use and transmission losses, but at the same time electricity is essential for modern societies, and using clean electricity helps reduce CO₂ emissions from many industrial processes. In addition, transmission corridors can be used to maintain threatened meadows and traditional cultural landscapes in Finland. In the case of Kotka-Jukola 2026, the transmission grid is visible in a particularly concrete way – Fingrid’s 400 kV high-voltage lines and the Kymin substation are located in the event terrain.
What Kotka-Jukola and Fingrid have in common is the ability to bring nature and built infrastructure together. Just as an orienteer moves on nature’s terms, Fingrid plans, builds and maintains its networks in ways that respect the characteristics of the environment and ensure that the energy network and nature can function side by side.
A shared goal: reliable conditions and a true Finnish summer experience
Fingrid and Kotka-Jukola share the same principle: when everything is handled properly in the background, participants can focus on what really matters. In the Jukola and Venla relays that means reading the map, team spirit and your own performance. For Fingrid it means a balanced power system, a reliable transmission grid and safeguarding Finland’s ability to function as a whole.
When these values meet, they create a summer night that works – technically, socially and as a memorable experience.