Marius Saurdal Nesvold has set himself up well to handle the energy crisis that has affected electricity prices in recent years. He produces electricity and heat with solar energy and stores everything in a battery bank in his basement. But this month the electricity has been at its cheapest in nearly two years. Several times the electricity price has been negative. At the latest on Wednesday at 2 p.m., the electricity price was -1 øre kWh. The app shows that the electricity price goes into the red for parts of Wednesday. Photo: Odin Omland / news – In the long run, the negative electricity price means nothing to me, but I lose NOK 3-4 if the electricity is negative for a few hours, says Nesvold. He finds that most people who have solar cells turn off solar cell production and are hysterical. – For us with small-scale production, it has nothing to say, it is worse with large plants. – Still have to pay internet rent But for those who only use electricity, it’s different. And then the big question is: Can you make money from the negative current? It takes a lot more, says communications manager Atle Simonsen at the energy company Lyse. Atle Simonsen, communications manager at Lyse. Photo: Odin Omland / news – You still have to pay internet rent per kilowatt you use. You have to get down to minus 40 to 50 øre before money starts ticking into your account for every kilowatt you use, he explains. On Sunday, the electricity was down to -15 kWh for a few hours, which is the lowest hourly price we have ever had in Norway, according to Simonsen. Rejoicing over low prices Several news have spoken to are very happy that the electricity price is so low now. – It has been far too expensive. I have received electricity bills that are completely behind the target, says Astrid Sautter. Astrid Sautter appreciates lower electricity prices. Photo: Odin Omland / news Now she will go home and put on the washing machine and fire up the sauna. – The sauna uses electricity, so I haven’t been able to afford it this winter, she notes. Marta Smedsgård also knows how to exploit the situation. – I usually put on the dishwasher and washing machine, she says. Marta Smedsgård knows how to take advantage of the low prices. Photo: Odin Omland / news That’s why electricity is cheap It’s a combination of several things that make electricity cheap now, according to Simonsen in Lyse: Low electricity consumption due to mild weather. A lot of production from solar and wind from Europe. The melting of the snow means that the water reservoirs are filled up. And river power, which is water power that cannot be stored, must be produced continuously. It costs more to turn off a number of power plants when the price is low than to pay people to use that electricity. It’s good news for people here who get cheap electricity. – Since electricity is a product that you have to use straight away, and to a small extent can store, it means that we get very low prices, he says. It is quite new that electricity is falling into negative prices. It happened for the first time in 2020. But Simonsen believes we will see more of this in the future and that electricity prices will fluctuate more. It is not necessarily only in favor of the electricity user. – This also means more expensive prices. If we do not upgrade hydropower, it is not certain that it will be possible with as much wind, solar and offshore wind as is planned, he believes.
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Almost two years since the last time electricity was this cheap – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
