Waselius advised the Municipal Guarantee Board in a State aid procedure where several amendments to the original aid scheme were approved by the Commission. The duration of the aid scheme is prolonged until 31.12.2023 and its scope is extended to cover, in addition to collateral payments for derivatives exchanges, all additional costs due to the Russian war against Ukraine, notably, the need to increase primary fuel storages and to replace Russian energy sources, as well as the increase of sales receivables. Further, a new aid measure in a form of a guarantee was included in the scheme. The amendments are based on the Commission’s revised Temporary Crisis Framework for State aid measures to support the economy following Russia’s war against Ukraine published on 28 October 2022.
The Commission’s decision was received in ten days and the quick processing guaranteed that no gap remained between the original scheme and the extension. The amended aid scheme enables the municipalities and Municipality Finance Plc to meet the various liquidity needs of municipal electricity companies arising from the current crisis and contributes to ensuring the security of supply of electricity in Finland.