On Thursday, news mentioned that electricity prices in the north have gone from one øre to over 50 øre in a week. A taste of what Northern Norway and Central Norway have in store. – It will probably get fiercer in the future. Now things are getting better, said Johnny Horsdal, head of administration at SKS. A natural question was; should people consider fixed price? The combination of more expensive electricity, media coverage and uncertainty about the future has given desperate northerners a leg to walk on. – There are many inquiries, says director of Bodø Energi, Ole Angellsen. But already it may seem that it is too late if you want to commit. Fixed-price contracts are being withdrawn from the market at record speed. Gone overnight When news discussed the electricity prices on Thursday, there were several players who were still selling fixed price agreements. The cheapest was Helgeland Kraft with just over 40 øre, but players such as Polar Kraft and Bodø Energi also offered fixed price agreements. Now everyone has withdrawn all the offers. – We are struggling to secure our trade backwards. It reflects the great uncertainty in the market right now, says Angellsen in Bodø Energi. – With pressure from the media, we could risk suddenly having 1,000 or 2,000 orders. A bit like what Meløy Energi experienced. Angellsen explains that the suppliers reflect what is happening in the market. – It is extremely uncertain. I think the reason most people now withdraw is because they don’t want to get into a situation where you lose control. He adds: – There could be major consequences from that. This is how Bodø Energi informs: Currently, it is not possible to order our fixed price agreements due to great uncertainty in the energy market. We are working on the matter and hope to offer fixed price agreements as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience! Photo: Screenshot / Bodø Energi – Do you withdraw the agreements to protect yourself? – We cannot risk exposing ourselves to a risk over which we have no control. We run a shop and cannot gamble as if it were Lotto. – Don’t you dare sell fixed price agreements Polar Kraft has also withdrawn its fixed price agreements in the last 24 hours. The company is owned by Yve. The managing director of the latter, Anders Kvamme, says, like Angellsen, that it is about uncertainty. – In order to sell fixed price agreements, we need to know that we can secure the purchase prices going forward in time. The financial power market in the Nordics is uncertain these days. Among other things, because the power companies that are players directly on the stock exchanges must provide substantial collateral. Photo: Skjermdump / polarkraft.no/aktuelle-saker/polar-kraft-stopper-salg-av-fastprisavtaler-intil-videre/ He explains that this provides little liquidity on the stock exchanges – which means that it is difficult for the power companies to secure their purchase prices going forward in time. – When everything is so uncertain, we dare not sell fixed price agreements. Why it is now difficult and uncertain is a complex picture? – An important factor is that all the players on the stock exchanges must provide guarantees along the way to prove that they are at all times able to settle the trade they have made. When the market moves as much as it does now, and prices are so high, the players have to give big guarantees. Therefore, volume is also taken from the stock exchanges and it becomes more difficult for us to get hold of what we need, says Anders Kvamme in Yve. Kvamme uses an example with a fixed price agreement of 50 øre for three years. – Then we have to ensure that we can buy in that electricity for just under 50 øre. If we agree a price with the customer of 50 øre and the price we have to buy for is one krone, we lose approximately NOK 9,000 a year for a normal household customer. – We cannot take that risk. Does not gamble Mathias Nilsson, the man behind the Facebook group Prismatch Strøm, told news on Thursday that he thought the fixed-price offers were going to change quickly. – The situation has already changed. The fixed price agreements that are available now will probably be gone in a week. It’s going fast now, he said. It didn’t take a week, but only a day, before the prices were gone. The spot price in Northern Norway was over a krone on Friday morning. Just over a week ago, the average price was about one penny. Photo: Skjermdump / Fjordkraft Angellsen in Bodø Energi describes a situation where things turn around very quickly. – It is very difficult. Until now we have been lucky to avoid the prices they see in southern Norway, and I don’t think we will get there. He adds: – But no one thought that Southern Norway would get to where they are now. If you had asked 14 days ago, I don’t think anyone would have answered that we would be in the situation we are in now. Are electricity prices worrying you?
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The power companies withdraw the agreements due to uncertainty in the market – news Nordland
