The day-to-day manager of Okken kraft, Knut Skår, was invited to the municipal council in Lærdal last week to inform about the use of fixed price agreements. Last year, the residents of the municipality were offered a fixed price agreement of 50 øre per kilowatt hour. The same customers still receive electricity support, and would have made a profit had it not been for online rent. In front of the municipal council, Skår told that fixed-price customers used 95 per cent more electricity in January than those who pay the spot price. – If Lærdølan continues to use so much electricity, then we should consider what to do, says Sæmund Stokstad (SV) to Sogn Avis. The overview also showed that fixed-price customers had 43 per cent higher electricity consumption than at the same time last year. On a national level, Norwegians have started to use less electricity in the last year. “The decline in consumption indicates that electricity customers are responding to the prices”, writes Statnett in the annual report for 2022. – It is clear that we must evaluate this arrangement. If it is the case that people abuse it, then we must be responsible and assess it, says Lærdal mayor Audun Mo (Ap). Photo: Jan Christian Jerving / news – We must evaluate the scheme if people abuse it. Lærdal mayor Audun Mo (Ap) tells news that there is no basis for drawing a picture of a municipality that wastes energy, and that “it will be a bit apple and pears”. He points out that there is a preponderance of cottage owners among those who have said no to the fixed price agreements, and that it is “natural that these have lower electricity consumption than ordinary households”. He adds that a single month (January) is “a flimsy basis for drawing hasty conclusions”. – But it is clear that we have to evaluate this scheme. If it is the case that people are abusing it, then we must be responsible and assess it. news has been in contact with several municipal council representatives in Lærdal, who also express a certain discomfort at what emerged during the meeting (see below). – We have a joint responsibility to reduce electricity consumption Olav Grøttebø, Ap – A month is a short time, but the tendency is certainly right and natural after a time of extreme spot prices. I still think that leather goods are thrifty, even if it is a fixed price, everything has to be paid for, both power and online rent. Market-based power turnover with variable prices undoubtedly provides an incentive to save and implement Enøk measures. Sæmund Stokstad, SV – First I must clarify that we do not have a good enough picture after a month with a fixed price agreement for the Lærdøle residents to assess whether we should change the agreement that is offered to the residents. But I think we have to follow the development. It is not fortunate that the residents of Lærdal, or other places, are paid to use electricity. We have a joint responsibility to reduce electricity consumption, and I think that is difficult to achieve with a negative electricity price. Rasmus Hansson, MDG – If electricity is cheap, people use much more. It’s not good for anyone in the long run. Our electricity subsidy proposal is to let the electricity price be what it actually is, but we redistribute the entire extra surplus to the state from electricity prices above 50 øre, divided into an equal amount for each citizen. It is most profitable for those who cannot afford to use a lot of electricity, and is more socially redistributive than other schemes. At the same time, such an arrangement makes large consumption less profitable. It is important to slow down the use of electricity in the current situation. The government’s scheme rewards those who have the money to use a lot of electricity. The proposal for a low fixed price from Raudt and people in Sp and trade unions is an effective recipe for increasing consumption and increasing power shortages. Bård Baardsen, Norwegian Heat Pump Association – A low fixed price reduces incentives both to reduce electricity consumption in the short term through behavioral change and in the longer term through implementing energy measures such as re-insulating, replacing window panes, installing heating and other energy measures. It is much better for the municipality to give residents support to implement energy measures than to subsidize cheap electricity. Already in a few years, the projections to Statnett say that we will have a power deficit in a normal year. If all households are to receive a low fixed price, consumption will increase, and we will have an even greater power deficit. Statistics Norway show that it is households with a high income who also have the highest electricity consumption. Therefore, a subsidized low fixed price will also be anti-social compared to giving support more targeted to households with low and medium incomes. Linda Ørstavik Öberg, Homeowners’ National Association – Norwegian households has shown a great will and ability to save energy through 2022. High electricity prices mean that the savings by using less electricity are large, at the same time that many people have realized how important it is to cut consumption if we are to solve the European energy crisis together. To believe that Norwegian households will change their behavior and stop acting as responsible consumers if the electricity subsidy scheme is improved is to show distrust in most people. Energy consumption in Norwegian households has fallen year after year over the last two decades. In Statnett’s latest forecasts for the next two decades, a flattening and still cautious reduction in household consumption is expected. The challenges in the Norwegian electricity system are linked to the transition from fossil to renewable energy sources in industry, the transport sector and the oil and gas sector. It is not the household that constitutes the problem. On its own website, the government writes that “there are many disadvantages associated with the maximum price” and that they “do not think this is a foolproof measure”. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – People use much more if the electricity is cheap – This confirms that if the electricity is cheap, people use much more, says Rasmus Hansson (MDG). In the past year, there has been debate about the relationship between price levels, “waste”, Enøk measures and incentives to save on electricity use. In a new survey from Opinion, half (52 per cent) answered that they could save more electricity than they do today. Fellesforbundet, Industri Energi, Huseierne have several times advocated a maximum price or total price for electricity. The same holds for several opposition parties (KrF, Raudt and Frp), parts of the Center Party, and 79 per cent of those questioned in a poll carried out for Klassekampen. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) has answered just as many times that he “understands that the maximum price can be tempting”, but that overriding the market mechanisms can cause great damage and “lead to a collapse of power”. When the Labor Party’s energy committee presented a report last week, it therefore attracted attention when they – unlike the Prime Minister – did not reject the measure. On Tuesday, Støre stated that “the demand for both more and less gets headlines, whether it is from the opposition or our own party groups in our party”, which was read as a jab at the leader of Nidaro’s social democratic forum, Trond Giske. In recent months, the former Ap deputy leader has criticized the government and expressed that he has ambitions to get approval for a new stream policy during the Ap national meeting in May. On Tuesday, Nidaro’s social democratic forum had a branch in Bjørgvin’s social democratic forum. – Low fixed price is unsocial compared to targeted support – It is much better for the municipality to give residents support to implement energy measures than to subsidize cheap electricity, says Bård Baardsen. He is the leader of the Norwegian Heat Pump Association, which wants more heat pumps in the Norwegian energy mix. He adds that it is households with a high income that have the highest electricity consumption. – Therefore, a subsidized low fixed price will be anti-social compared to giving support more targeted to households with low and medium incomes. In October, the government announced six measures for Norway to save electricity, but has since received criticism from the opposition for dragging its feet. In a new analysis from Sintef, the authors conclude that Norway is “not on track” with the goal of reducing energy use in buildings. On Tuesday, news wrote about a dawning internal rebellion within the governing party, symbolized by “sharp resolutions” and demands to the government from several county annual meetings. Pictured: Kari Nessa Nordtun, leader of the Labor Party’s energy committee. Photo: Martin Fønnebø / news – It is not the household that is the problem – Norwegian households show a great will and ability to save energy, says Linda Ørstavik Öberg of the Home Owners’ National Association. She points out that energy consumption in Norwegian households has plateaued and that Statnett expects a flattening and careful reduction in household consumption. – The challenges in the Norwegian electricity system are linked to the transition from fossil to renewable energy sources. It is not the household that constitutes the problem.
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Here, fixed-price customers use twice as much electricity as the others – news Vestland
