Norway has the most unilateral power system in Europe, where 89 percent is based on hydropower. Three quarters of this is power production based on stored water that can be regulated as needed. This system is completely dependent on Our Lord’s rain, which we cannot buy on any market. Stored hydropower is the most valuable in Europe as it is climate-friendly, can be regulated and has a low production cost. This power achieves the highest value in the market because it can help cover demand when there is too little wind power, and because it reduces the need for continuous production of coal power or nuclear power to balance demand. Wind power and solar power vary a lot and cannot be regulated according to the need for power. At the same time, the EU and Norway have very ambitious climate targets and have planned for extensive electrification of society. Insufficient development of renewable power, and especially power generation and energy storage that works when there is little wind, means that there will be a lack of stable and renewable power in Europe for many years to come. With the strong power connection Norway has to the continent and Great Britain, this means high and highly variable power prices here in the country as well. The price of gas has grown strongly since last year, before the invasion of Ukraine, but the situation has been greatly worsened by Putin’s use of gas cuts as a weapon against Western Europe. But there is too little realism in energy policy in the EU and poor risk management which has made Europe so vulnerable. The liberalization of the power market with the Energy Act from 1991 has largely worked well, in a situation with surplus power and exchange with Sweden. But this system has been overloaded because one has later opened up extensive power trading with the large market in the EU and on international power exchanges. The consequence is enormous income for the power producers on the basis of the great value Norwegian stored power has in the EU. And the energy chaos in the EU has spread to Norway. The Norwegian power system is vulnerable and so different from countries in the EU that we do not have the same interests as these countries. But we can complement each other. Norwegian stored hydropower is such a small ‘battery’ by European standards that it can only play a minor role in stabilizing the power system in the EU. With a strong connection to the power market in the EU, there is a real risk of major draining of our power reservoirs, including the multi-year reservoirs that will distribute water between dry years and normal years. Then there is a risk of serious supply problems and social problems that must be taken seriously enough. EU countries that have a large proportion of gas in their energy system can buy and store gas for the winter, although it is currently very expensive, but we cannot buy rain. The Norwegian power system and thus Norwegian interests are so different from the EU’s system and interests that we should not link our system too strongly to the EU. This means tighter frameworks for power trade with the EU. This is a job for Norwegian politicians. Agreements which have proved to be very unfortunate for one of the parties due to changing circumstances must be changed. Of course, it makes sense to cooperate with the EU in the area of energy, but at the same time this must be based on premises that ensure national interests and preparedness. We must be careful not to risk essential national interests in order to support countries that have made many mistakes in their energy policy and made themselves vulnerable to Putin’s blackmail.
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