New storm causes power cuts, disruptions in southern Finland
A snow storm again cut electricity to thousands of homes in Finland on Wednesday, but energy company Fortum said in the evening it had fixed all faults on its main grid dating from last week's storms. Earlier in the day, very poor driving conditions snarled traffic in the capital city region and Uusimaa.
Fortum says that some 1,500 households are suffering blackouts on its low-voltage network.
In total, some 2,000 households in the south and southwest are currently without power.
Vattenfall says that about 200 of its customers are in the dark, while an additional 500 customers of Satapirkan Sähkö are also without electricity.
The storm that arrived in Finland overnight has weakened considerably after causing considerable damage in the British Isles and Scandinavia, but winds were still gusting up to 20 metres per second. However, it was expected to abate on Wednesday evening and overnight.
Commuting was complicated on Wednesday morning by poor driving conditions caused by snowfall and delays on public transport. Authorities warned that pedestrians should also beware of slippery conditions underfoot.
The Federation of Finnish Financial Services estimates that storm damages may run to 70 million euros.
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