Marie Lavik pulls out the plug to a large fridge with drinks in the convenience store she runs in Eksingedalen in Vaksdal. – The electricity bill is dangerously high, so now we just have to switch off everything we can. She has received the electricity bill for August. Including online rent, the sum is just under NOK 35,000. That is more than five times higher than August last year. This cabinet is empty. It saves electricity. Photo: Linnea Skare Oskarsen / news Fears the local community is dying – If it continues like this, there will be a knock on the door at the turn of January/February, says Lavik. Snarkjøp is called “the pulse of the village”, and is the only grocery store within miles. If the grocery store closes, it is half an hour to drive to the next store. This can lead to people moving from the village. – We also do home delivery for customers who can’t get out of the house. They will have to move if we close down, says Lavik. The customer base for the convenience store is around 50 households, 30 cabins and hikers. One of them is Anna Sveinungsdotter Bergo. She describes the shop as the heart of Eksingedalen. – It would be a crisis for the village if the shop had been closed down. It means everything to us. If the store is closed down, several exingedøls fear that this sign will no longer be true. Photo: Linnea Skare Oskarsen / news – I understand very well what they mean and share that concern. Without the convenience store, not everyone will be able to continue living there, says the mayor of Vaksdal municipality, Hege Eide Vik (Sp). The Minister of Business and Industry: – Working on measures The state has provided electricity support to households since last year. Companies, on the other hand, have not received any compensation. Now the government is working hard to find good electricity support schemes for businesses. Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre (Ap), last Friday put forward a proposal for electricity support measures for the business sector for LO, NHO and Virke. The government’s plan is to present a scheme with electricity support for business on Friday at 10 a.m., after news receives information on Thursday evening. Minister of Industry Jan Christian Vestre. Photo: Tale Hauso / news Vestre says that the challenge has been to find measures that do not worsen the situation. – The last thing Norwegian companies need now is a rapid rise in interest rates, and therefore we have so far been restrained with new measures that could contribute to the opposite effect of what we all want. In the worst case, an increase in interest rates can cost companies far more than expensive electricity. Fearing a wave of bankruptcies – Our member companies have been calling almost every day now, says Jørund H. Rytman, managing director SMB Norway. Rytman says that the companies are extremely concerned about the electricity bill. – I fear that we have already seen the start of a wave of bankruptcies, which will have enormous consequences for local communities and workplaces across the country. The Vaksdal mayor says that she also gets signals from several people that things are getting difficult. – The margins are not large enough to withstand the high electricity prices, says Eide Vik. Lavik is now planning for the worst. – It is an accounting that does not add up right now, but if we close the shop, it will no longer be attractive to live here.
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Shop in power municipality received NOK 35,000 in electricity bill – fears closure – news Vestland
