– Absolutely extreme. I don’t know how we will survive. That’s what butcher Jens Eide, who runs his own butchery in Lillesand, says. Today, it will cost an abnormally high amount for him to produce this year’s Christmas ribs. It has been 15 years since electricity was as expensive as it is today. For the first time since 2009, the maximum price is NOK 13.17 in South and South-West Norway. In Northern Norway, where the average price is down to 0.12 øre. – It is so extremely different. I just become completely powerless, says Eide. See how the electricity price is in the big cities: This year’s most expensive poinsettia As a private person, you get help from the electricity subsidy, which means you pay far less than NOK 13 for electricity. This arrangement does not apply to companies. That’s why it’s not just Christmas ribbons that are becoming expensive today, the poinsettias at Bryns Blomster in Porsgrunn are also becoming expensive. The electricity bill for the shop is usually NOK 400 a day. Today it will be around NOK 5,000, according to the shop owner. – If we turn down the heat, things go crazy. It’s not good for the poinsettias, says shop owner Bjarne André Deila Bryn. – This is a crisis. If it continues like this, I see no reason to continue being here, says Deila Bryn. At Stavanger Medisinske Senter, electricity prices have been an economic virus for a long time. – Some months we have paid NOK 100,000 in electricity bills. Before, a bill of NOK 15,000 was high, says doctor Peter Christersson. Also at Joker Jelsagata in Stavanger, the cash register is ringing. – It is quite beyond prices. It’s almost like being fined, says store manager Benjamin Dåvang. Frank Asle Mathisen runs the restaurant Bite of Norway in Gudbrandsdalen, and has gone from 8,000 to 100,000 in electricity expenses. – It’s absolutely horrible, says Mathisen. Unfair The large geographical variation in electricity prices is difficult for many companies to accept. – The injustice is not fair. It is a big disadvantage for companies when the difference is so great internally in Norway, says NHO in Rogaland. Yesterday, energy minister Terje Aasland (Ap) referred to the electricity price as “beyond”. – I understand very well that people react, because it is an absolutely terrible situation, said Aasland. Store manager at Joker Jelsagata, Benjamin Dåvang, knows that there is an opportunity to arrange a fixed price agreement for electricity, but thinks it is too big a risk. – It will be like gambling. And it can be expensive if summer comes and electricity is cheap again. Energy Minister Terje Aasland says the government has done a lot to make electricity more affordable for private individuals, including electricity subsidies. Photo: Sindre Thoresen Lønnes / news Good news at the end Although electricity is really expensive in parts of the country today, low prices are expected for the rest of the winter, says electricity analyst Tor Reier Lilleholt to NTB. He explains that we have an electricity system that is very dependent on the weather. Germany is to blame for today’s high electricity prices because there is little wind there. As early as tomorrow, the price of electricity will drop sharply. Therefore, the price of electricity is affected by wind in Europe: The price of electricity in Norway is affected by wind in Germany because we are connected to the European electricity market. When Germany produces a lot of wind power, electricity becomes cheaper and affects prices here. Low wind, on the other hand, means more expensive electricity from gas and coal, which also pushes up prices in Norway via the power cables. Winter and cold also make people demand more electricity, and in periods of both low supply of electricity and cold, prices will increase. – The market players believe that prices will be low on average until spring, 75 øre on average, says Lilleholt. Atle Simonsen, communications manager at the energy group Lyse, also told news yesterday that he thinks the average price in December will be around one krone. Published 12/12/2024, at 13.24 Updated 12.12.2024, at 13.40
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Companies despair over high electricity prices – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
