On Monday, the government and the parties in the working world will meet for talks on emergency measures for the business world. For a whole year, the government has rejected demands for electricity support for companies, but on Wednesday the oil and energy minister gave new signals. – It is good that the government is now taking the initiative for a meeting. The power situation has gone from bad to worse since NHO first demanded a power arrangement at the end of January, says NHO chief Ole Erik Almlid. NHO CEO Ole Erik Almlid is happy about the signals about urgent measures, but believes that new steps must be taken to ensure more power in Norway. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB Norsk Industri, the municipal organization KS and the two heavy LO unions Fellesforbundet and Industri Energi walked out on Friday afternoon and demanded immediate electricity support for vulnerable companies, according to NTB. And in a meeting with the government earlier in the day, the employers’ organization Virke also asked for compensatory measures against high electricity prices, and not just for the large industrial companies. In a letter that was sent to several ministries following Friday’s meeting, Virke writes that it is crucial that the entire business community is listened to, not least small businesses. This affects the electricity price: The level of power production in Norway The level of power production in the partner countries The level of power production in countries outside our power market The price of electricity outside our power market Consumers’ electricity consumption The amount of electricity we export abroad Dollar exchange rate The price of CO2 emissions Maintenance work Cable quality Transmission restrictions in the power grid, also called bottlenecks Source: Strøm.no More meetings The meeting with business partners will take place on what will be an exceptionally busy Monday for the government parties. On the same day, the Presidency of the Storting will decide on demands from several parties to cancel the summer holidays and call for an emergency meeting about the electricity crisis. And at the same time, the governing parties are working to gather the parliamentary leaders for talks on Monday, where they can be briefed on the work that is already underway. The purpose is, among other things, to avoid parliamentary decisions that go against professional recommendations and assessments made in the ministries. The government will meet NHO leader Ole Erik Almlid and LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik on Monday. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik has said that it is important to act quickly, but not at any price. And NHO leader Ole Erik Almlid is on the same page. – It is urgent to take compensatory measures for the companies that are hardest hit, but we cannot work so quickly that the measures have unforeseen and negative effects, he says. More power Both Virke and NHO have made it clear to the government that compensatory emergency measures against high electricity prices are not sufficient. The problem is that not enough power is produced in Norway, the organizations believe. – Short-term support measures are important, but they are not enough, says Almlid. He believes Norwegians must understand that more wind farms on land and new development of hydropower are needed. – We have to put up with more in this country, says Almlid to news. He continues: – We must ensure greater power production, not just at sea. We need more hydropower and more wind farms on land. New waterways Almlid says NHO is working on a list of tributaries that can be used for new hydropower, but emphasizes that in the longer term it must also be considered to open up development in hitherto untouched waterways. – Development in tributaries can go faster and can also reduce the risk of flooding. But it is of course also important to make better use of the capacity in existing facilities, he says. He describes Monday’s meeting about electricity measures as an input meeting. – The scheme that comes into place must go where the need is greatest, i.e. in the parts of the country where electricity is the most expensive, says Almlid, who believes that both small and large businesses should be covered by the support measures. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Lien Aasland and the government have long rejected their own electricity support for business, but now the Labor minister says that the companies will still get help. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB Oil and Energy Minister Terje Lien Aasland (Ap) told news on Wednesday that the government is working along a number of tracks and that new measures will be presented “as quickly as possible”. In addition to a strengthened electricity support scheme for households and completely new measures for business, the government is open to limiting electricity exports to ensure security of supply. The plan is to introduce export restrictions when the level of filling in the water reservoirs reaches a certain level.
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Thinks we have to tolerate more interventions in nature – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
