Councilors in Pori launch signature campaign for extraordinary meeting on Pori Energia sale

City councilors in Pori opposing the sale of the minority stake in Pori Energia have launched a race against time to gather signatures for an extraordinary city council meeting. The purpose of this meeting would be to discuss a consultative referendum regarding the sale. Councilors Mika Aho, Jaakko Jäntti, Antero Kivelä, Christa Lahto, Antti Lehtonen, Markku Tanttinen, and Niko Viinamäki have sent an email to their fellow council members asking if they support convening this extraordinary meeting. To succeed, they need the backing of a quarter of the council members.

The group believes it is crucial to ask citizens for their opinion on the sale of Pori Energia before the council officially votes on the matter. They reference a recent citizens’ initiative that successfully gathered enough signatures to warrant council consideration.

There is urgency in calling the extraordinary meeting if the referendum is to take place. The city council is expected to make a decision on the sale of Pori Energia by December 20. According to the law, a decision regarding a referendum must be made 60 days prior to the vote. Therefore, if they wish to announce the referendum decision before the sale is finalized, it must be resolved by October 20 at the latest.

In October, the council has only one scheduled meeting, so the initiative may not be ready for consideration in time. The group is now invoking municipal law, which states that if a quarter of the council requests to discuss an issue, an urgent meeting must be called.

The potential sale of Pori Energia’s minority stake represents one of the largest topics in Pori this council term, with the city administration tasked in August to prepare for the potential sale after a previous vote. Mayor Lauri Innan aims to secure hundreds of millions of euros from the sale for investments and generating capital revenues, while opponents fear loss of decision-making power and increased electricity transmission costs.