– I have never experienced a government as hostile to industry as we have today, says Bjørn Bunæs. He has been in business for around 50 years. Now the chairman is showing us around Telemark Kildevann, which is the cornerstone company in the small village of Fyresdal in Telemark. Bunæs despairs that the government’s electricity scheme is not adapted to companies with uneven production. Such as with them, which have no production at night and which produce more water when the sun is shining and people are thirsty. In short, he is dismayed that they are forced to buy a certain amount of electricity at a fixed price, but do not get a fixed price for what they actually use of electricity. – If we use more electricity an hour, we have to buy at the spot price. If we use less, we have to sell at a bargain price, says Bunæs. Bjørn Bunæs is chairman of Telemark Kildevann and PetPack Drikker, which produces beverages primarily for the Norwegian market. Photo: Theo Aasland Valen / news Electricity bill of nine million Last year the electricity bill for the factory was nine million kroner. It accounted for 25 percent of their total operating costs, he explains. – Everyone understands that it is not possible to operate in that way. The average price per kilowatt hour is three to four kroner today. He believes that the normal should have been 30-40 øre per kilowatt hour, and that the government’s electricity scheme is of no help to them. – The electricity costs are about to kill us. We expect that the fixed price arrangement as it is today will be changed, so that it is possible to call it a fixed price agreement. Foretells washing up at the national meeting Now he gets unexpected support. Labor Party mayor Erik Skjervagen in the same municipality is taking a hard line against his own government. He warns that dishes will be washed up at the Labor Party’s national meeting in the spring if nothing is done. – We need an improvement. A fixed-price agreement is good, but as it is designed now, it is only suitable for relatively few companies, he says. Skjervagen says that he has come up with concrete proposals for how this can be designed for the Minister of Business and Industry. He believes it must be reformed so that companies are offered a fixed price for actual consumption, and not agreed consumption. – I now expect them to do something about this, if not I will be really pissed off, says the mayor. Erik Skjervagen and Bjørn Bunæs agree that the electricity scheme for businesses must be changed. Photo: Theo Aasland Valen / news The minister: Sad to hear Business Minister Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) thinks it is sad to hear that Bunæs believes the current government is the most hostile to business. – The government has no more important job than securing Norwegian jobs. Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) is Minister of Industry. Photo: Tale Hauso / news He adds that 100,000 private businesses were created in the country last year, and unemployment is at a record low. – If there are suggestions for things that can be done better, I will of course listen to them, says the Minister of Business. Greater flexibility When the government proposed a fixed price agreement for companies, they were open to either actual consumption or agreed consumption, according to Vestre. It was a combined power industry that wanted agreed consumption. – Within those regulations, there is also a large degree of flexibility, and I hope that will now be used. – When the power companies obviously don’t use that flexibility, shouldn’t the government step in and demand it? – Right now, I do not want to allow or rule out that there may be adjustments to the fixed price rules. The problem so far is that there have been too few electricity companies on the scene and when there are few providers, the products are inferior. Now more people are signing up and there are several examples of agreements being concluded and the agreements becoming more flexible, explains Vestre. – I am still an optimist and hope that this will be successful. Simply because it is what can give our companies more flexibility and not least more predictability which they now need. – Impossible to plan In December, news reported on several companies that shouted warnings about the new fixed-price contracts they were offered. The reason was that they had been offered to buy a fixed amount of electricity every hour throughout the day and week, even when they only operate during the day. It is also problematic for the factory in Fyresdal. – Our electricity consumption varies both with the season and time of day, says chairman Bjørn Bunæs of Telemark Kildevann. However, the Minister of Industry believes that the electricity companies can adapt this today. By, for example, offering fixed price agreements from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. – The Minister of Industry must ensure that the regulations are changed so that you pay a fixed price per kilowatt hour for the electricity you use, says Bunæs, and warmly welcomes Industry Minister Vestre to Fyresdal.
ttn-69
Labor mayor in Fyresdal reacts to the government’s electricity scheme for businesses – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
