Of all the factors affecting electricity prices right now, the cold is the most important, according to several electricity experts news has spoken to. In the last week it has been cold in large parts of the country, with double-digit minus degrees in several places. On Sunday, the electricity price on the Nordpool electricity exchange is NOK 3.37 per kilowatt-hour in Eastern Norway, Southern Norway and Western Norway. Somewhat lower, NOK 2.53, in North-West Norway and Central Norway. NOK 1.50 in Northern Norway. On Monday, there will be a new electricity price record in Northern Norway. Then the average price will be a record high NOK 2.53 per kWh. The maximum price will be NOK 4.14, NTB reports. These prices are pure power prices, without grid rent, VAT and surcharges for the electricity company. The low temperatures will continue into the next week, says on-duty meteorologist Martin Granerud. – It looks like we will keep the cold weather. There is cool air over large parts of Scandinavia. On Saturday it was minus 12 degrees at Munkholm in Trondheim. It will be cold here next week too, according to the meteorologist. Photo: Knut Dreiås What is uncertain is how long the cold period will last. The meteorologist is pretty sure it will last next week. The last week before Christmas is more uncertain. In any case, this means that electricity prices will remain high, and will probably rise in the next few days. – I would argue that the cold is the most important factor, says power analyst Tor Reier Lilleholt in Volue Insight. He believes consumption next week will be particularly high, probably higher than what has been recorded for several years. He also believes that there could be daily prices of up to NOK 4 and 5 per kilowatt-hour, and hourly prices of up to NOK 10 and 20 per kilowatt-hour in certain periods. – I expect the prices to go up in the next few days. From Monday to Friday, little wind and high consumption are expected, significantly higher than what we have seen this weekend. Electricity prices will increase in the next few days, several electricity experts believe. Photo: Bjørn Opsahl / news Johnny Horsdal, head of administration at SKS Handel, also believes in high electricity prices going forward. He points out that the cold has so far led to consumption in the Nordic region suddenly increasing to 10,000 megawatts per hour. – There is also considerably less wind going forward, which means that you get high consumption and little unregulated production. Then the prices will be hefty for the next week and a half, says Horsdal. Critical in Sweden It does not make the situation any better that several nuclear power plants in Sweden have now been taken out of production. This weekend, the nuclear power plant Oskarhamn 3, with a maximum capacity of 1450 megawatts, will be taken out of operation for nine days. In addition, Ringhals 3 will be closed during these days, which means that a further 537 megawatts of available power will disappear in Sweden, according to Energiwatch. France also has nuclear power production that is down, and there are still high gas prices on the European market. – The cold is still the most important factor going forward. Now there is high consumption, little inflow into the water reservoir. Now we get a test of the whole system, says Horsdal. Electricity subsidy kicks in With high electricity prices, electricity subsidy kicks in too, at a spot price of over 70 øre per kilowatt hour. Straumstøtta covers 90 percent of the price above this. But this applies to private residences, not the cabin. Thus, the electricity bill for December can vary greatly, depending on how you choose to celebrate Christmas. – It might be a good idea to have filled it well with firewood and what is needed there, says Horsdal. The electricity subsidy does not apply to the cabin. It may be a good idea to buy extra firewood before the Christmas season, according to the electricity experts. Photo: Edny Rønne The cold has taken hold In the past 24 hours, temperatures have dropped to minus 30 degrees in various places in southern Norway. Of the larger cities, where electricity consumption is greatest, it will be coldest in Oslo and Trondheim next week. Here, temperatures will soon be between 10 and 13 degrees below zero. The coldest days seem to be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Western Norway often has plus degrees when it is cold in Eastern Norway – but in Bergen it is also cold, both now and in the future. – Bergen will have nighttime temperatures of between five and ten degrees below zero this week if today’s forecasts are correct, says meteorologist Martin Granerud. Soft winds could speed up the wind turbines and counteract the high electricity prices, but things look bad there too, according to the meteorologist. – There are calm wind conditions. In some places there is a fresh breeze to a slight gale, but the general picture is that when it is this cold we don’t get strong winds either. Frost picture from Sandane in Vestland. The cold will remain in the west for the next few days as well. Photo: Randi Ryssdal
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The cold lasts until Christmas – predicts sky-high electricity prices – news Vestland
