At the end of December, electricity prices have risen. But the neighboring countries have received far more affordable electricity than Norwegians at the turn of the year. On New Year’s Eve, the average price will be NOK 1.2 in southern Norway up to Molde. Up north, the price will be 28 øre. Just over the Swedish border, the average price is 9 øre, while the Danes pay 19 øre. The price will be negative in Germany Eastern Norway, Western Norway and Southern Norway will therefore have to pay twelve times as much as the Swedes and six times as much as the Danes. In Germany, electricity becomes so cheap that it goes into the red. – In Germany in particular, prices are pushed down by the fact that there is a lot of wind, says analyst Marius Holm Rennesund in Thema Consulting. Analyst Marius Holm Rennesund in Thema Consulting Photo: Hanna Hiim Sindre / news Hydropower prices above 1 kroner In Northern Europe, all wind power must be used immediately, and the price is dumped to get rid of everything. Norway also gets to import cheap foreign electricity, but that is not enough to set an equally low price. – The cable capacity is limited. Either way, it is not the case that the price spreads 100 per cent through, says Rennesund. – If imports had been enough to cover demand, imported wind power would have given the electricity price. The most expensive power produced sets the price for all the power sold. Norway will supplement imports tomorrow with its own hydropower. Unlike wind power, water can be saved and turned into more expensive power later. The market expects the electricity price to be around NOK 1 next summer, according to head of analysis Tor Reier Lilleholt at Volue. Head of analysis Tor Reier Lilleholt in Volue Photo: Asbjørn Odd Berge / news – Then you should not produce at too low a price now, but rather save water and import cheap power from abroad. It will benefit us, because we will get a lower price when there are higher prices abroad, he says. Cheaper when Europe is expensive He cites the beginning of December as an example. Norway then exported a lot of electricity from the hydropower plants. Exports can only take place when Norway sets the price lower than abroad. Prices were therefore slightly lower in Norway than abroad at the beginning of December. – Then it was profitable to produce as much as possible. If you want to save water, you have to set a higher water value, explains Lilleholt. – Normally, prices are more even in Norway precisely because we do this. In Germany, you are at the mercy of whether it is windy or not, says Rennesund.
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