Customers in Tibber can now decide for themselves whether they want to pay for actual consumption up to and including the due date, or whether they want to pay the estimated amount on the invoice. The move comes after what has been referred to as “a reputational collapse” for the company. In September, the company was charged with breaking the law by the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority after the company changed its invoice routines with two days’ notice. The law states that customers are entitled to 14 days’ notice when the conditions are changed. Tibber explained the change with “liquidity challenges”, higher interest rates, more expensive electricity and “the absence of state guarantees for Norwegian electricity companies”. Until this autumn, Tibber put out the electricity for up to 45 days before they received money from the customer. By invoicing the customers for their estimated consumption half a month in advance, this period is shorter and the outlay is less. The explanation was still not enough to silence the criticism, symbolized by the fact that in December Tibber fell from 1st to 104th place on the list of the most liked streaming companies in the country. On Friday this week, the company announced that they are taking action to restore trust in the company. Purely practical in that the customer can check in the Tibber app how much electricity has been consumed up to the due date, and adjust the invoice amount accordingly. – With the new model, you only pay for electricity that is actually used, says Tibber CEO Edgeir Aksnes. Here together with founder-colleague Daniel Lindén. Photo: Johnny Vaet Nordskog / Johnny Vaet Nordskog – We’ve been working hard Since October, parts of the invoice have been based on “estimated consumption”, based on assumed electricity price and assumed consumption. In December, the power company based an estimate of NOK 4.23 per kilowatt hour. The electricity price in Norway has varied from 2 øre to over 8 kroner per kWh since August. – With the new model, you only pay for electricity that is actually used, says Tibber CEO Edgeir Aksnes. He acknowledges that the autumn has been challenging for the company, but will not say how many customers they have lost. – Many were not satisfied with our new invoicing practice, and we have been working hard to find alternative solutions. Now we have come a short way. He adds: – We will continue to listen to input from customers to find the best solutions for invoicing and payment. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland says access to cash is “a limited problem” for Norwegian power companies, but that the ministry is “closely following developments”. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – The threshold for entering as a power supplier is relatively low Several other power companies have also reported challenges with liquidity this autumn. – It is a challenge that the threshold for entry as a power supplier is relatively low, while the requirement for financial strength has increased dramatically, says Mona Adolfsen in Samfunnsbedriftene. Economist Peter Warren told news in October that the equity capital of Norwegian power companies “is generally too low in relation to the obligations they take on”. – The electricity company needs to harmonize its equity in relation to the increase in customer volume and fluctuations. By doing this, the equity will be in proportion to the obligations they take on. Tibber writes in his own annual report that the equity is “lower than what the bank requires”. Photo: news In Sweden, Denmark and Finland, the authorities have created loan guarantees in the hundreds of billions to help companies that end up in a cash crunch due to high electricity prices. The Norwegian government has replied that there is no need for similar measures in Norway. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy responds to State Secretary Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap): – Our impression is that access to liquidity is a limited problem in Norway. Within the current regulations, power suppliers can use both advance and arrears invoicing of electricity consumption. We are not aware of power suppliers having problems financing themselves in the private capital market.
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Tibber changes controversial invoicing practice – news Vestland
