Both Monday and Tuesday, heat records were registered in northern Norway. It pushes low electricity prices even lower. – Now it melts well in the mountains. Then there will be a real pressure on the spot price, says Johnny Horsdal, head of administration at SKS. On Tuesday, the average price in Central and Northern Norway was two øre per kWh. On Wednesday, the price landed at three øre. In the short term, it is nice for most people and power-intensive industry. But in the long run, experts are now warning that the situation could be turned upside down. Reason? Power producers lose money every single day – and have few incentives to plan new power projects. The industry may go down for counting The melting in the rock is so great that the reservoirs are filled to the brim. Production is in full swing. But with low consumption and poor capacity out of the regions, it is inevitable that prices will not be pushed down. – It is good for the consumer that it is cheap electricity. But power municipalities and power companies are losing money on these low prices, says Horsdal. Johnny Horsdal in SKS believes that the low prices in northern Norway are not good for the region in the long run. Photo: Johanne Eidsvold / news Further south, the situation is turned upside down. Consumers and industry pay in expensive judgments for electricity. – In the south, power municipalities and power companies have high incomes. They build up enormous muscles which means that they can later buy up northern Norwegian companies, Horsdal explains and adds: – This is not good for northern Norway. In 2020, prices also collapsed. Horsdal says it can probably happen again in 2023 and 2024. – Then the industry in the north is down for counting eventually. – We have a serious problem The CEO of the Bodø region’s Development Company, Elnar Remi Holmen, is concerned that the industry will be developed in the region. He agrees that electricity prices are good in the short term. But in the long run, he thinks this could trigger a completely different situation. – In the long term, we are on the way to a disaster for northern Norway. Elnar Remi Holmen believes that hydropower producers must start new projects to avoid an energy crisis in northern Norway. Photo: Kari Skeie / news Holmen points out that all the new industrial projects in northern Norway can mean that the profits are quickly eaten up. At the same time, according to Holmen, there is little to no willingness from the power producers to plan for new power projects. – With the low prices we have now, it is not profitable for hydropower producers to expand. The new industrial projects need a lot of power and this means that we are heading towards an extreme deficit situation. He adds that it is absolutely crucial for Northern Norway that new power production is created. – We have a serious problem. If Northern Norway is to become the industrial adventure we want, this problem must be solved. A dilemma The managing director of Mo Industrial Park, Arve Ulriksen, gives Holmen support. – On the one hand, it is advantageous with low prices because it is favorable for power-intensive industry. On the other hand, it is difficult to realize new power projects with such low prices as we have now. According to him, this leads to risk aversion among power producers. VISIT BY STØRE: Arve Ulriksen talks to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor Party) during a visit to Mo Industrial Park in February. Photo: press photo – When prices are as low as they are now, most people probably feel risk aversion. I think the power companies should listen to the long-term forecasts that show that prices will be higher and over time will be equalized with prices in the south. Ulriksen emphasizes that planning should have been started in several places already. – In that way, it could have been arranged for us to press the start button when the prices make it advantageous to start. – Minimal with upside Eivind Mikalsen, CEO of Helgeland Kraft, tells news that the low prices consequently present some challenges for them as a power company. – There is no one who makes money on two øre per kWh. It is a pure loss project. Mikalsen nevertheless highlights the benefits of low electricity prices. – We want value creation in the region. I use to say that in many ways we have won the lottery. Industrial development is happening so fast that we almost have to rub our eyes. There is a lot of smelting in several places in the country. Here, millions of liters of water flow over the 95 meter high Zakarias dam in Tafjord. He adds: – But the analyzes say that the situation in 2026 will be different. Then we will need more capacity. The CEO explains that Helgeland Kraft will use the current year to look at the possibilities for increased production. But those who think it is just a matter of starting big new production projects must think again, he says. Eivind Mikalsen says they are using the current year to look at opportunities for more power production in the future. Photo: Helgeland Kraft – We are a pure water producer. Is there an upside in upgrading existing production? We believe that there are minimal upsides, and we do not want to start a debate about the protected watercourses. – We will turn every stone, but it is too easy to say that it is just a matter of starting to design.
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Approaching free of charge for electricity in Central and Northern Norway – news Nordland
