Europe is in an energy crisis, and now the cold is coming for real. While the electricity price is over NOK 5 in the most expensive hour on Wednesday, Norwegians can see far worse price peaks in the future. – In individual hours, the price of electricity in Norway can go up to NOK 20 per kilowatt hour, says head of analysis Tor Reier Lilleholt at Insight by Volue. Cold means increased consumption of power for heating, and at the same time there is little help from wind turbines when the wind has been absent recently. Sends power out – barely gets anything back In Norway, the water reservoirs have been filled throughout the autumn. Power exports are now in full swing again after several months of savings. In the last week, Norway exported a net eight times as much power abroad as in the whole of October, according to Statnett. In contrast to earlier this autumn, southern Norway hardly imports power. The price of hydropower in Norway is largely determined by what it can be sold for abroad. In Germany and Great Britain, coal and gas must be used to meet the energy demand, setting the price in the market. Norwegian producers set the price slightly lower than abroad, and then abroad will buy the power. If the water was withheld, the price would have to be set higher. It is therefore the cold combined with low wind power production that sends electricity prices up, not increased exports from Norway, according to Lilleholt. – Without the export of Norwegian power, the electricity price would be even higher, so this also benefits Norwegian consumers, says Lilleholt. Tor Reier Lilleholt is head of analysis at Volue Insight. Photo: Asbjørn Odd Berge / news Editor Geir Ove Mollestad in Montel Energy News sees no reason to criticize the power producers for selling electricity for full jugs. – This is how the electricity market works, of which Norway is a part. The power goes where the price is highest, says Mollestad. Expecting an expensive December With dry and cold weather, Norwegians will have to settle for more expensive electricity in the future than the prices that were in October and November. For December, expectations are on average NOK 3 and 52 øre in Southern Norway and Eastern Norway. Including VAT, this gives an electricity price of NOK 4.39. Internet rent, fees and surcharges for electricity companies come out on top, but have different results. – In the end, we are at over NOK 5 per kilowatt hour before the electricity subsidy is deducted, Mollestad concludes. The electricity subsidy takes the brunt The electricity subsidy takes 90 per cent of the price above 87.5 øre, including VAT. If the average price for December lands at NOK 4.39, the support gives the consumer a price of NOK 1 and 23 øre. Since the electricity support is calculated according to the average price, consumers will be able to get more support if most of the electricity is used at times of the day when the price is lower. Conversely, more consumption in the most expensive hours will result in less support than 90 per cent.
ttn-69
Sending out large amounts of power again – expect sky-high prices – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
