Per Arne Røsten and his family run the convenience store at Elgå in Engerdal, close to lake Femunden. There has been a shop here since 1952. – But it is highly uncertain whether there will be any celebration of the 75th anniversary of the shop here in three years, says Røsten. He is one of many shop owners in Bygde-Norge who are struggling to keep operations going now. – The electricity costs eat up the store’s profit, which is what we live on, says Røsten. OVER SEVEN TIMES AS MUCH: In September, merchant Per Arne Røsten had to fork out more than NOK 44,000 for his electricity bill. Before the electricity crisis, the bill was under NOK 6,000. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news Critical for many Department director in the Merkur programme, Steinar Fredheim confirms that the crisis atmosphere in Engerdal also applies to other parts of the country. The Merkur program has helped to keep alive more than 500 convenience stores around the country since 1995. But now they can’t help. – We are very concerned about many shops in the areas where the electricity price is the highest, says Fredheim. The stores can apply for support for investments, but support cannot be given for operations. Fredheim says many shops also do not have free money they can spend on measures to get lower electricity bills. Therefore, this is very critical for many. – We are working to, if possible, get the rules changed, so that shop operators can also apply for support for operations, says Fredheim. Others are more fortunate. This week, the municipal council in Bygland in Agder decided to set aside NOK 500,000 for the four grocery stores in the municipality: Disconnecting the refrigerators In recent months, the electricity bill for the store in Elgå has only gotten higher and higher. – We have cut out three freezers and two cold counters, and switched off the air conditioning in the store. And we have invested in rock heating for the winter. We are unable to adjust down much more, says merchant Røsten. SWITCHING OFF: The voice has had to stop using several cooling elements to save power. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news Before, the electricity bill was NOK 5-6,000 a month. This month it will be 35,000. If things continue like this, the store could end up having to pay almost 400,000 for electricity this year, compared to normally around 65,000 a year. There are five grocery stores in Engerdal municipality today, spread over an area as large as Vestfold county. – Everyone is in the same situation. We fear that all shops will go under if nothing happens with the electricity price, says business developer Dag Rønning. FAR TO THE NEXT STORE: If the convenience store in Elgå is closed, the local population will have to drive four miles to the nearest store, either in Drevsjø or across the border to Idre in Sweden. Fears dead villages Businesses in Engerdal have now sent a letter to four ministers and parliamentarians from Hedmark, about how they experience the electricity crisis. It is quite clear that there is great dissatisfaction. In the heading of the letter, they write that this is an emergency call, and that they fear more bankruptcies. It is pointed out that the power support does not help, as it is designed now. The only thing that will help in this acute situation is to introduce a maximum price, they write. – The municipality is terribly worried about the poor business life we have, says business developer Rønning. He says that the rest of the business world, including tourism companies, are completely dependent on convenience stores. The letter from Engerdal to the authorities To the Minister of Finance Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, Minister of Business Jan Christian Vestre, Minister of Oil and Energy Terje Aasland, the Business Committee v/ Willfred Nordlund, the Hedmarksbench in the Storting Galloping electricity prices – a cry for help! Feedback from the business community in Engerdal Engerdal is a large Grisgrendt municipality. Our business life consists of many small businesses. The companies are largely tourism-based within accommodation, catering, service and trade. We represent the service offer for residents, part-time residents and other guests. None of these businesses can be moved to other locations, as they are largely family businesses, run for generations based on the area’s unique qualities. We have large seasonal variations with a predominance of summer tourism. This constitutes important jobs in a small district municipality. We look with great concern at the rapidly increasing electricity prices, which provide a totally unpredictable cost picture that our small businesses can hardly compensate. As an example, the convenience store in Elgå must increase its turnover dramatically, or raise prices by several tens of percent to compensate for the increased electricity costs. Now in the low season, this directly affects the local population, who have a minimum of 40 kilometers to the nearest alternative, either at Drevsjø or Idre in Sweden. All five grocery stores in the municipality are in the same situation. Closure will be the consequence if nothing is done immediately. Per Arne Røsten at Nærbutikken Elgå – Peder Røstens Eftf. wrote a post on Facebook recently which at the time of writing has been shared 437 times and has over 75,000 views. He has subsequently been contacted by various national media. This says everything about the fact that the topic engages widely and that it does not just apply to us here in Engerdal. It seems as if central authorities do not understand the everyday life of these small players, nor do they care significantly about the situation. The electricity subsidy as it is currently designed does not help these companies. Turnover and profit margin do not indicate that the companies have the power to cope with the high energy prices, nor is it possible to carry out single-use measures with sufficient profitability for it to be a realistic solution. The only thing that can remedy today’s acute situation is to introduce a maximum price ceiling for electricity as soon as possible, preferably with retroactive effect from August 2021, but as a minimum from September this year. If necessary, such a fixed price scheme must be designed so that companies on the outskirts of Norway receive a lower maximum price ceiling and it can also be differentiated according to turnover if you do not want to create a general scheme for the whole country. This inquiry is a cry of distress that the entire business life in our municipality is hit hard and unnecessarily by today’s electricity market. It is to be or not to be for us. You are hereby warmly welcomed on a visit to Engerdal for a meeting with those who have the shoes on. We expect the government and Storting to take this seriously and act quickly. The letter is signed by: Mia Faldmo, general manager of Destinasjon Femund Engerdal AS, Dag Rønning, business developer in Enerdal municipality, Lars Monsen, Femund Lodge, Elgå and Per Arne Røsten, convenience store Elgå Peder Røstens Eftf. Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre says that he takes the suggestion from the business community in Engerdal seriously. – I look at it with great concern. We want there to be businesses and shops all over our country. Vestre says that the electricity crisis is the issue they spend the most time on now. – We will do everything we can to get down to a normal electricity price level as quickly as possible. We will then help the most vulnerable companies already this autumn, he says. FIXED PRICE: – The government’s main move is to get a well-functioning fixed price market in place as soon as possible. We are also extending a helping hand to around 20,000 businesses, which can get help with their electricity bills as early as this autumn. Unfortunately, it will not help all companies, but it will come to the rescue of a good number of companies – including the shops. Photo: Remi Sagen / news Thinks the store is failing The merchant in Elgå fears they won’t be able to make it big anymore. He says the worst thing for them is that there is no predictability. They have no idea what the electricity price will be next month. – How long can you keep this going? – I think there are probably many people who are in a more difficult situation than me. But they say that 150 to 200 stores can join within six months. And I am probably among those who smoke in that period, yes, says merchant Per Arne Røsten.
ttn-69
Businesses in Engerdal want a maximum price for electricity to save businesses – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
