Helsinki Sports Facility Group Locks In €2.2 Million Electricity Deal Through 2031

Urheiluhallit Oy and five affiliated Helsinki sports and service facility companies have jointly awarded a spot-price electricity supply contract worth €2.2 million to Mind Energy Oy, covering swimming halls, sports halls and service buildings across the city from 2028. The four-year deal, with an option for a further year, was won on the strength of the lowest combined brokerage fee and price-fixing margin among four competing tenders.

Introduction

Keeping the lights on and the pools heated at a city's sports and swimming halls depends, ultimately, on a steady electricity supply bought at a competitive price. In Helsinki, that responsibility for six affiliated public facility companies now sits with Mind Energy Oy, after Urheiluhallit Oy led a joint procurement on behalf of itself and five partner organisations for a new electricity supply contract running from 2028.

It is not a headline infrastructure project, but it is the kind of contract that keeps municipal sports facilities, swimming centres and service buildings operating, and it shows how Finnish public bodies pool electricity purchasing to secure better terms than any one of them could negotiate alone.

Why This Contract Matters

Urheiluhallit Oy and its partner companies, Mäkelänrinteen uintikeskus Oy, Vuosaaren Urheilutalo Oy, Kiinteistö Oy Helsinginkatu 25, Kontulan Palvelutalo Oy and Töölön Urheilu- ja Terveystalo Oy, each operate premises with meaningful electricity demand, from swimming pools to sports halls, but individually would carry limited weight in the wholesale electricity market. By running a single joint procurement, the group aggregates its demand into one contract covering nine separate delivery points across Helsinki.

For the supplier, that means one competitive process opens access to six affiliated public bodies at once. For the buyers, it means access to spot-price electricity with a price-fixing option, and brokerage terms, that a single small facility company would be unlikely to secure independently.

Contract Timeline

●        Contract award notice published: 10 July 2026 (OJ S 131/2026)

●        Winner selected: 12 May 2026

●        Contract concluded: 3 July 2026

●        Coverage start date: 1 January 2028

●        Initial contract term: 48 months

●        Optional one-year extension decision deadline: 31 March 2030

Contract Overview

Urheiluhallit Oy, acting as group leader on behalf of itself and five partner companies, ran an open procedure for the supply of electricity under EU Directive 2014/24/EU, using Gasum Portfolio Services Oy as its contact point for the tender. The object of the tender was a spot-price electricity contract with an option to fix the price, as set out in the procurement documents, which were made available in Finnish only.

Four tenders were received for the single lot, and one supplier was selected to serve all six buyer organisations under a shared, non-framework supply contract. No framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system was used; the outcome is a direct contract with Mind Energy Oy.

Key Contract Details

Project Scope

The contract supplies electricity to nine delivery points across Helsinki, including Urheiluhallit Oy's own Pasilan Urheiluhalli, Siltamäen Uimahalli and Malmin Uimahalli (including a separate site-power connection at the latter), as well as premises operated by Mäkelänrinteen uintikeskus Oy, Vuosaaren Urheilutalo Oy, Kiinteistö Oy Helsinginkatu 25, Kontulan Palvelutalo Oy and Töölön Urheilu- ja Terveystalo Oy.

The buyers estimated the total value of the procurement, including possible option periods, at between €2,000,000 and €2,500,000 excluding VAT. The initial term runs for 48 months from 1 January 2028, and the buyer group holds a one-year extension option that must be exercised, if at all, by 31 March 2030, with the same contract terms and pricing carried over into any extension period.

The contract is not run as a framework agreement; a single supplier is contracted directly to serve all six organisations for the full term.

About the Contracting Authorities

Urheiluhallit Oy, the group leader, is a body governed by public law active in recreation, culture and religion, based in Helsinki. Its five co-buyers are similarly structured public bodies: Mäkelänrinteen uintikeskus Oy, Vuosaaren Urheilutalo Oy, Kiinteistö Oy Helsinginkatu 25 and Töölön Urheilu- ja Terveystalo Oy are active in recreation, culture and religion, while Kontulan Palvelutalo Oy is a body governed by public law controlled by a local authority, active in economic affairs. All six share the same procurement contact point, Gasum Portfolio Services Oy.

About the Winning Company

Mind Energy Oy is a large energy company headquartered in Vantaa, Finland. It was selected as the sole electricity supplier for the joint procurement after submitting the most competitive combination of delivery brokerage fee and price-fixing margin among the four tenders received.

Procurement Analysis

Procedure: An open procedure was used under EU Directive 2014/24/EU, with the tender documents specifying that if only unsuitable or non-compliant tenders were received, the buyer group reserved the right to move to a negotiated-style procedure open to all suitable bidders who had submitted a formally valid tender.

Competition: Four tenders were received for the single lot, a reasonable field for a joint electricity supply contract of this size, with the buyer contracting a single winning supplier rather than splitting volumes.

Evaluation criteria: The tender was awarded on price alone, split between two components: the electricity delivery brokerage fee, weighted at 80%, and the MW price-fixing margin across SYS, EPAD and HEL products, weighted at 20%. The comparison price combined both figures, and in the event of a tie, the winner would first be decided by the lowest brokerage fee, then by the lowest margin, and finally by lot if still tied.

Foreign Subsidies Regulation: The procedure falls under the EU's Foreign Subsidy Regulation, and Mind Energy Oy submitted the required declaration, with the standard award procedure applied rather than an in-depth review.

Strategic procurement: The buyer group flagged human rights due diligence in global supply chains and fair working conditions as social objectives promoted through this contract.

Additional Procurement Facts

●        The procedure was not accelerated, indicating a standard timeline was followed.

●        No framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system was used; the outcome is a direct, single-supplier contract.

●        The procurement is not financed with EU funds.

●        Partial or alternative tenders were not permitted under the tender rules.

●        Procurement documents were available in Finnish only, with translation costs for other languages falling to the tenderer.

●        Disputes or review requests fall to the Markkinaoikeus (Market Court) in Helsinki.

●        The winning tender was not formally ranked, consistent with a single-supplier, price-formula-based award rather than a scored multi-bidder ranking.

Market & Industry Perspective

Joint electricity procurement of this kind is a common pattern among Finnish municipal and public-sector bodies, allowing smaller, related organisations to combine their demand and negotiate spot-price contracts with fixing options that would otherwise be reserved for much larger buyers. Six affiliated Helsinki facility companies pooling their electricity needs into a single four-year contract reflects that logic directly.

For energy suppliers, winning this kind of joint contract offers a single competitive process that unlocks multiple delivery points and long-term, predictable demand, rather than negotiating separately with each facility operator.

Economic Significance

At an estimated €2 million to €2.5 million including options, and a confirmed award value of €2.2 million, the contract is modest by national energy-market standards, but it directly underwrites electricity supply to swimming halls, sports halls and service buildings that residents across Helsinki rely on. Predictable electricity costs over a four-year term also help the buyer group manage operating budgets for facilities that are often energy-intensive, particularly swimming centres.

The optional one-year extension gives both Mind Energy Oy and the buyer group flexibility to continue the arrangement through 2031 without a new tender, provided the option is exercised by the March 2030 deadline.

Future Procurement Opportunities

Should the buyer group exercise its option, Mind Energy Oy would continue supplying electricity to all nine delivery points through the end of 2031. Beyond this specific contract, other Finnish municipal and public-sector bodies operating similar joint-procurement arrangements are likely to run comparable electricity tenders on their own cycles, and this Helsinki sports-facility group's approach, pooling demand across multiple affiliated companies under a single contract, may serve as a reference point for similar public buyers.

Opportunities for Suppliers

Electricity suppliers and brokers active in the Finnish public sector should note that joint procurements of this kind recur periodically as contract terms expire, and that competing successfully depends on offering both a low delivery brokerage fee and a competitive price-fixing margin, the two variables weighted in this award. Suppliers able to service multiple delivery points across a metropolitan area, as Mind Energy Oy will for these six organisations, are well placed to win contracts of this structure.

What Businesses Should Watch

●        Whether the buyer group exercises its one-year extension option ahead of the 31 March 2030 deadline.

●        Whether other Finnish municipal facility groups adopt similar joint-procurement structures for electricity or other utilities.

●        How Foreign Subsidies Regulation declarations factor into future public energy tenders as the regime becomes more established.

TendersOnTime Procurement Intelligence

This contract is a useful illustration of how public bodies with related but formally separate legal structures, six companies across Helsinki's sports and recreation sector, can combine their purchasing power into a single procurement rather than each negotiating electricity supply independently. The result is a single supplier serving nine delivery points under one set of terms, decided on a transparent, formula-based price comparison rather than a broader multi-criteria evaluation.

The heavy weighting toward the delivery brokerage fee, 80% of the comparison price, shows that for a relatively standardised commodity like electricity, the buyer group treated the cost of arranging supply as the dominant factor, with the price-fixing margin as a secondary consideration. That is a fairly common approach for spot-price energy contracts, where the underlying commodity price is set by the market rather than negotiated directly between buyer and supplier.

Supplier Takeaways

●        Joint electricity procurements among affiliated Finnish public bodies follow a recurring, multi-year cycle worth tracking for pipeline visibility.

●        Delivery brokerage fee carried 80% of the award weighting here; suppliers should lead with competitive fee structures rather than relying on margin alone.

●        Serving multiple delivery points under a single contract, as required here, favours suppliers with broad service coverage across a metropolitan area.

●        Foreign Subsidies Regulation declarations are now a standard part of qualifying for contracts of this kind.

●        Optional extension periods can extend supplier revenue certainty a further year beyond the initial contract term.

Key Takeaways

●        Urheiluhallit Oy and five partner companies jointly awarded a €2.2 million electricity supply contract to Mind Energy Oy.

●        The four-year contract runs from January 2028, with an option for a further year through 2031.

●        Four tenders were received, evaluated on an 80/20 price formula covering brokerage fee and price-fixing margin.

●        The contract covers nine delivery points across Helsinki sports halls, swimming centres and service buildings.

●        No framework agreement was used; Mind Energy Oy is contracted directly as the sole supplier.

Conclusion

This is not a contract that will make national headlines, but it reflects a practical model for how related public bodies manage a shared operating cost. By pooling electricity demand across six affiliated Helsinki sports and service facility companies, Urheiluhallit Oy and its partners secured supply terms through a single, transparent procurement rather than six separate negotiations. Mind Energy Oy now carries that supply responsibility for Helsinki's sports halls and swimming centres from 2028, with the possibility of continuing through 2031.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Who is buying the electricity in this contract?

Urheiluhallit Oy, acting as group leader, together with five partner companies: Mäkelänrinteen uintikeskus Oy, Vuosaaren Urheilutalo Oy, Kiinteistö Oy Helsinginkatu 25, Kontulan Palvelutalo Oy and Töölön Urheilu- ja Terveystalo Oy.

Q2. Who won the contract?

Mind Energy Oy, a large Finnish energy company based in Vantaa, was selected as the sole electricity supplier after submitting the most competitive tender among four received.

Q3. How long does the contract run?

The initial term is 48 months from 1 January 2028, with an option for the buyer group to extend by one further year, to be decided by 31 March 2030 at the latest.

Q4.How was the winning supplier chosen?

Tenders were compared using a price formula combining the electricity delivery brokerage fee (weighted 80%) and the MW price-fixing margin for SYS, EPAD and HEL products (weighted 20%).

Q5. Is this contract funded by the EU?

No. The procurement is not financed with EU funds, though it follows EU Directive 2014/24/EU, is covered by the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement, and falls under the EU's Foreign Subsidy Regulation.

Source: EU Official Journal, Contract Award Notice 476289-2026-EN, OJ S 131/2026, published 10 July 2026.