The Energy Commission was established by the government in February last year in response to the galloping electricity prices. The committee will assess the power policy towards 2030 and 2050, and both mayors, industry, the power industry and consumers are represented. – We want to get clarity on how the commission relates to the Archives Act’s provisions on record-keeping and documentation routines, says national archivist Inga Bolstad to news. – We simply want to investigate whether they have an archive and whether it is really true that they do not have anything that should be in a journal. Total secrecy The Energy Commission presents its report on 1 February. However, how the commission has worked over the past year is shrouded in total secrecy. This has caused several parties to react. The commission believes that all meeting notices and minutes are internal, and thus not necessary to provide access to. When news asked for a copy of the public postal record, the secretariat referred to submissions published on the commission’s website, and an exception provision in the archive regulations. “The Energy Commission has not found it appropriate to keep internal documents in the journal” was the refusal. National archivist Inga Bolstad says she is surprised that the commission does not have documents in its postal records after a year of work. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Investigation has started Now the Norwegian Archives will investigate whether the committee’s record-keeping is in line with the Archives Act. In a letter dated Friday, the commission is asked to answer a number of questions. “Public committees are obliged to keep archives, either themselves or via the appointing body, cf. the Archives Regulations § 2 (4)” says the letter sent from the Norwegian Archives’ supervisory department. They ask the commission to explain the general archive management in the commission, and clarify whether they keep records for documents that are not so-called internal to the body. – Stusser The National Archivist says she is stunned that a public committee that has been working for almost a year does not have a single document to keep in a postal journal. – It may very well be that way, but I can probably say that I am a little puzzled by it. That is why we are asking them for an explanation, says Bolstad. – Could they have broken the Archives Act? – It may well happen. I don’t know, but it could happen. That is why we have sent this letter. Say they still have postal records Confronted with the criticism from the National Archives, commission chairman Lars Sørgard says that the denial of access to news was formulated in a way that “could be misunderstood”. SNUR: Commission chairman Lars Sørgard apologizes if they have given incomplete information that could be misunderstood. Photo: Christian Lura / news – We would like to clarify that the Energy Commission keeps an archive. All incoming and outgoing documents are recorded, and that means there is a postal journal, he writes in an email. – We clarify that we firmly believe that no offense has been committed – this is a misunderstanding. When asked why the commission failed to hand over the postal record when they received a request for it, and instead referred to exceptional provisions in the archive regulations, he replies: – If we have given incomplete information that can be misunderstood in the first place, I am very sorry. – Were you involved in that process? – I don’t want to say anything about that. I am responsible. I won’t say whether I was involved or not. Sørgard says the commission will shortly give a new answer to news on the access request. – Deliberate attempt at training Tron Strand heads the Press Publicity Committee and has read through news’s access requests and the Energy Commission’s response. He is clear in his judgment. Tron Strand in the Press’s Publicity Committee believes that the commission has deliberately tried to train transparency. Photo: Private – It is only when the commission is informed of criticism from the National Archives that they find it appropriate to inform news that they actually have a journal and an overview of incoming and outgoing mail. It happens one month after the first request for access was sent to the commission. – The handling of the access case cannot therefore be understood in any other way than as a deliberate attempt to train and undermine a clear statutory right. – Access to public documents and records, including all communication by e-mail and all other electronic platforms, is not something a publicly appointed commission can avoid, says Strand. – If we have done something objectionable, we must of course correct it as quickly as possible. Of course, we have not consciously tried to train transparency, Sørgard replies. news has also asked Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland to comment on the matter. – Now, first of all, the commission must be given the opportunity to respond to the letter sent from the National Archivist. It is not natural for the ministry to enter into this matter before the commission has responded, writes communications adviser Stine Grimsrud in an e-mail.
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The national archivist investigates whether the Energy Commission’s secrecy is illegal – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
