In November 2021, Mathias Nilsson chose to enter into a fixed price agreement with his electricity supplier. He has not regretted it. No matter what the electricity costs, he pays 80 øre. When he also receives power support, he is actually in the red. Then he gets his electricity bill back. – Everyone who has a low fixed price for electricity gets money back for using electricity when the price is so high. I have long said that I do not understand why people have not agreed fixed prices with their electricity suppliers, says Nilsson. He is not alone. The fixed price agreement combined with the current electricity subsidy scheme means that more Norwegians now earn more money, the higher the spot price. – Special situation Terje Hamre in Norwegian Family Economics explains the loophole in the following way. Terje Hamre in Norwegian Family Economy. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news – The government covers 90 per cent of what is over 70 øre. Then they don’t look at the individual’s electricity contract, but the entire area. Those who have tied the electricity to a fixed price will get money back when the electricity is so expensive, so the situation is quite special, says Hamre. Nilsson is above average concerned with electricity, and has created a Facebook group where he gives 70,000 members electricity tips. After daily inquiries from people struggling to make ends meet after electricity prices skyrocketed, he decided to take action. Offers others to use his electricity He thus created the group “Free electricity”, where he encourages people with a fixed price to let others charge electric cars, wash clothes and take a shower without paying. And he likes to share electricity himself. – It is a win-win situation. Instead of paying NOK 8,000 to use electricity, you get to do it for free, says Nilsson. He talks about contact with people who are really struggling to make ends meet. – People can’t pay their bills, and many can’t afford vital medicines. In 2010, we saw a pensioner who froze to death. Power poverty is life-threatening, says Nilsson. Mathias Nilsson spends 5–6 hours every day reading about electricity. He already recommended people in September last year to limit the electricity to 43 øre/kWh Photo: Privat – En uting The electricity company for Nilsson, Dalane Energi, is an inter-municipal company owned by the municipalities of Eigersund, Bjerkreim, Lund and Sokndal. Managing director Idar Sønstabø believes Nilsson is abusing the electricity subsidy scheme. – This is a hoax. The intention of the electricity subsidy scheme is to help the average population, he says. Sønstabø believes that a consumption that Nilsson encourages will contribute to worsening the situation surrounding the energy crisis in Europe. – But we have no way of stopping him, says Sønstabø. Communications director at Lyse Energi, Atle Simonsen, says they had a fairly good fixed price agreement for their customers last autumn. For Lyse, however, the agreement is not quite so good. – But we stand by these agreements, unlike others who have tried to get out. There is no danger of Lyse going bankrupt, says Simonsen. More have a fixed price At the end of the second quarter in 2022, 7.9 per cent of Norwegian households had a fixed price agreement, figures from Statistics Norway show. It is the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RME) in NVE that administers the electricity support scheme vis-à-vis the grid companies. They confirm that someone is now profiting from the fixed price agreement. – Households receive electricity support regardless of the agreement they have. It is calculated in the same way for everyone. Whether people with a fixed price agreement make money will depend on which fixed price they have, says first consultant Oda Kristine Bratlie to news. Another person who gets money back on his electricity bill is Trond Birkedal. – I feel very lucky. I’ve had great luck, he says. A year ago, he entered into an agreement with his electricity supplier for a fixed price of 43 øre per kilowatt hour. Can earn up to 15,000 a month Although Birkedal considers himself lucky, he has also followed developments in Europe. – It is a combination. It’s luck, because nobody can predict electricity prices. At the same time, we saw that Germany was going to shut down nuclear power, that there was going to be electrification of the continental shelf. Then I thought I was taking a chance, says Birkedal. Trond Birkedal is one of those who gets money back into his account as a result of the electricity subsidy from the government. Photo: Elise Pedersen / news He has already noticed the impact of the electricity subsidy. – I have mostly got somewhere between NOK 500-700 left on my electricity bill. I don’t use more electricity than before. Had I used 5,000 kWh a month with this agreement, I could have received somewhere between NOK 10 and 15,000 back, he explains. Despite this, he is not going to open his home in the same way as the members of “Fri Strøm”. – It’s good if someone can get it done, and there are decent logistics involved. For me, it’s about not wanting to use more electricity than I have to. I do not benefit from the fact that the electricity company that has offered me the agreement goes bankrupt. Too late with a fixed price And if you now think that you want to tie the electricity to a fixed price, it is too late. – There are offers for a fixed price, but when the spot price is NOK 7 per kilowatt hour, no one wants to tie the price that high. It is not favorable, notes Terje Hamre in Norwegian Family Economics. So those who do not have a fixed price must continue to pay high sums for the daily shower, heating the house and preparing dinner.
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Fixed price customers earn money by using electricity – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
