– I have never experienced the kind of crisis atmosphere and concern in so many companies as we are experiencing now, says senior advisor Trond Madsen at the Norwegian Confederation of Business in Agder Agder. He represents many businesses in Southern Norway, which are deeply distressed by the situation. Agder is one of the counties hardest hit by the prices. – There are companies of all sizes and mostly all industries, says Madsen. On Tuesday, electricity costs NOK 6.60 per kilowatt-hour in Eastern Norway, Western Norway and the Southwest on average throughout the day, according to figures from the electricity exchange Nord Pool. If you add taxes, the price is around ten kroner. Fears more redundancies Last Tuesday, the Aluminum Works Alcoa Lista notified that they are shutting down one of their three production lines within a short time due to expensive electricity. – We lose around 6,500 dollars per tonne of aluminum we make, says energy manager, Ole Løfsnæs, in Alcoa Norway. The company states that none of the plant’s 270 permanent employees will be laid off or dismissed as a result of the shutdown. Last Friday, the solar cell producer Rec Solar Norway in Kristiansand and Porsgrunn announced that they will stop production from 3 September. Of the 250 employees at the factories in Kristiansand and Porsgrunn, the company expects that around 30 employees will be kept on the job. – If we get electricity support, we are “back in business”, said CEO of Rec Solar Jan Enno Bicker when the company shut down production. Jan Enno Bicker is managing director of Rec Solar Norway. Photo: Hans Erik Weiby / news – Must have justice But Madsen fears that more and more people will follow suit. – We already know of companies that are laying off workers. This also applies to smaller companies that are not mentioned in the media, he says. Butcher Jens Eide in Lillesand is among many in business who are calling for electricity support. – We must have justice. When we have electricity prices up to NOK 10 and the rest of the country pays down to NOK 17, we do not have the same terms and conditions to work according to. We can’t have it like this, says Eide to news and gets support from Madsen. – It will be a simple calculation. Now electricity prices are so high that many businesses that were profitable before are no longer so. If companies run at a loss for a long time, it is more rational to close. We cannot have this situation for a long time, says Madsen. The butcher Jens Eide in Lillesand believes it is high time that there is electricity support for businesses. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann / news Relying on electricity package Earlier in August, Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) said that work was being done to look at various support measures for business. They can be presented in September, when the Storting politicians will hold an extraordinary meeting about the situation. – We hope, believe and almost pray that a power support scheme will solve this from the autumn. Long-term solutions are also needed so that we never end up in this situation again, says Madsen. The senior adviser, with over 10 years’ experience in NHO, still believes that many companies must see themselves passed over in an electricity subsidy scheme. – Unfortunately, I think many companies will be disappointed by that arrangement. It is not possible to meet everyone who is affected. Many people experience being affected without the authorities necessarily thinking they are struggling, says Madsen.
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– Never experienced the level of crisis atmosphere and worry – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
