At the family business Lygnasæter AS, electricity costs have exploded. The company, which, among other things, runs a hotel, pub and petrol station at national highway 4 in Gran in Innlandet, notices that things are getting worse. – You have to try to be positive. But I think it’s more difficult now. Because now I feel that there are a lot of extraneous things with electricity, war and taxes. What you want most is to create jobs. But it gets tougher and tougher. That’s what Elisabeth Seigerud Øverlier, owner and general manager of Lygnasæter AS, says. – The warning lights must be on A survey among the member companies of NHO shows that many are now very worried. More than one in three companies believe that the market outlook for the next 6 months has worsened or will lead to a decline. A total of 3,289 companies throughout the country responded to NHO’s survey. The business community in the interior is most concerned. There, 54 per cent of the companies believe that the market outlook has worsened. Several announce redundancies One in ten companies say they will carry out redundancies in the next three months. In addition, 8 percent answer that they will carry out redundancies. NHO asks the government for more concrete measures to help the companies. At the top of the wish list is a well-functioning fixed price regime for electricity and energy. – We expect the government to follow up so that the fixed price agreements actually become a real alternative for hard-tested companies. It also means that the electricity suppliers must be able to offer fixed price agreements. If that is not the case, we expect the government to do what it can to sort things out, says Jon Kristiansen. NHO also requests that wind and hydropower be rapidly developed. They also want a national campaign for energy efficiency to be carried out. In addition, it is requested that companies avoid increased taxation in the state budget, which will be presented on Thursday. news has been in contact with the Ministry of Industry, but they have not yet answered our questions. Emergency plan At Lygnasæter Hotel, Elisabeth Seigerud Øverlier looks at her mobile phone. A few years ago, they changed to a system where, with the help of an app on their phone, they can continuously regulate electricity use and electricity purchases in order to save money. ROOM TEMPERATURE: Elisabeth Seigerud Øverlier can control the temperature in all rooms in the hotel at Lygnasæter from her mobile phone. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news For now, she does not know whether the family business will come under the government’s electricity subsidy scheme or not. She has therefore made an emergency plan. – In short, the emergency plan involves closing off areas and trying to squeeze more people into the same place. Perhaps, for example, the pub guests can eat at the hotel? she says. She says that before the pandemic they had around 60 employees. Now they are only around 30. – We are a little short on the number of employees. It is difficult to recruit in this type of industry these days, but we are also careful. We want those who work here to keep their jobs, she says. FEWER EMPLOYEES: General manager Elisabeth Seigerud Øverlier together with Gunn Hovland who works in the kitchen at Lygnasæter AS. Before the pandemic, there were 60 employees in the company, now they are only half as many. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news
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Norwegian companies warn of poorer market prospects, according to NHO – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
