The rain has been pouring down this summer in Western Norway. Although it is a great annoyance to many, it is good news for several of the water reservoirs vestanfjells. In Høyanger, the lake flows closest to Bergsvatnet – much to the delight of Hans Bolme, maintenance leader at Statkraft, which has several power plants in the area. The water level in Bergsvatnet in Høyanger is exactly how Statkraft likes it. Photo: Oddgeir Sæle / news But not all the water flows into the turbines. About 10 cubic meters will be hatched to Øyraelva, which flows freshly down the mountainside in the industrial village. – We would like to send all the water in the turbine. Then we would have smiled well, says Bolme. – Wet in the autumn somewhat to help The record high electricity prices have thinned the wallets of many Norwegians lately. In light of the fact that many hydropower plants have little water in their reservoirs, this makes more people fear that Norway will have to ration. The hydropower plant in Høyanger stands out somewhat. GOOD TIMES: Hans Bolme, maintenance manager at Statkraft, thinks it’s perfectly fine that it’s been a wet summer – it shows that at full water reservoirs in Høyanger. But he would like to see the rain become a little better distributed in the country. Photo: Oddgeir Sæle / news But can water reservoirs that are quite full be pushing down the prices of electricity? Hardly. In that case, there must be a proper power diet from the weather gods’ side, according to energy analyst Tor Reier Lilleholt in Volue. – We must probably have one of the wettest autumn in history before we can see normal landfills, and it will probably be able to lower prices somewhat. The analyst adds: – But not to the level in the north, where there is a danger that the reservoir will overflow after snowmelt. Therefore, there is almost zero value on production no. Even though it takes large amounts of rain to do something with the electricity prices, there is help in every drop, Lilleholt adds. Price areas In Norway, the network is divided into five price areas: Southeast Norway (NO1) Southwest Norway (NO2) Central Norway (NO3) Northern Norway (NO4) Western Norway (NO5) On Wednesday, recent figures from NVE showed the filling level in vassmagasina. It is now at 64 percent, a slight increase from the week before. Usually the figure is over 72 percent. – Tala is as expected, says Sigbjørn Seland, power analyst at Storm Geo, who does not think they will affect the electricity price noticeably. This is what it looks like in the Hunderfossen power plant, where a small amount of snow and work on the dam means that the reservoir is below normal, says Gaute Skjelsvik, CEO. in Glommen and Laagens Brukseierforening Photo: Roar Berntsen / news But numbers vary widely. The degree of filling in Central Norway, price area 3, is twice as high as southwestern Norway and price area 2. The latter is down to 48.3 per cent. The probability of rationing can increase quickly How wet the autumn gets and how much electricity that is produced through the winter, will control which direction “rationing ghost” takes, the power analyst explains. Rationing has in fact been mentioned as a tool to get enough electricity throughout the year. Lilleholt reminds that rationing will only be relevant in the spring when we risk running out of water and delivery security becomes a snag. In winter, one will usually have enough water. – In any case, the price will be high, as a tool to avoid rationing. The recent NVE figures do not increase the likelihood of rationing, says Seland in Storm Geo. We have had tough times before, without it becoming relevant. What makes the situation special now are the extreme natural gas prices in Europe, he explains. On Wednesday, the EU presented contingency plans for rationing natural gas. If the export of natural gas from Russia falls sharply or is completely woken up, it could ultimately lead to Germany and the Netherlands closing the power cables to the southwest, says Seland. – If there is also a cold and dry autumn and winter in the Southwest, the probability of rationing increases quickly, says Seland – without wanting to speculate on how likely this is. Tore Guldbrandsøy in Rystad Energi says that the high gas prices will continue and push the prices of electricity upwards in price area 2.
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– Must have the wettest autumn nokosinne for the electricity price to be lower – news Vestland
