– Those who live in Finnmark are very lucky. The electricity prices we experience in the south of the country are like a shock, says Alatalo. Northern Norway has benefited from the low electricity prices this summer. For a long time, the spot price has been only one øre per kilowatt hour on average. This is in stark contrast to prices further south in the country. The average price varies from one to well over three kroner per kilowatt hour. Emigrating? The sky-high electricity prices in the south have actually meant that Kaja Alatalo and her husband have now taken the trip up to Alta to look for a new home. They usually live in Flekkefjord, outside Kristiansand. There, prices have been close to three hundred times higher than in the north – at most. – If it is to continue in this way, we could imagine moving north, the two say. – Marked on the wallet And the couple has a point. The Finnmarkers notice well in their wallets that electricity prices are extremely low at the moment. – There is a 1000-1500 kroner difference per month, compared to this winter. It is noticeable, says all-weather John Sigurd Hansen. He is not alone in pulling on the smiley face when he examines the electricity bill. Eva Krogstad Landmark is also satisfied with low monthly costs for electricity. But at the same time she feels sorry for her sister who has a cabin in Trysil. – It is wrong that it should be like that. We can not control the precipitation, but I think there should be some equalization at least. There is a big difference in the price of electricity in the north and in the south. From left John Sigurd Hansen, Kaja Ajatalo and Eva Krogstad Landmark. Graphics: Jonas Løken Estenstad / news Competitive advantage It is not only private individuals who benefit from low electricity prices. The companies in Finnmark are also having good times now. Especially those who have a power-intensive business. As Arges AS in Alta. – The last few days have been quite extreme. We have almost free electricity, says general manager Bjørnar Bull. The company makes plastic pipes for the aquaculture industry, and sells its goods to large parts of Europe. The plastic must be heated and cooled, which is a process that requires a lot of electricity. – We are located approx. at 1 percent of the electricity price you have in the west, east and in southern Norway right now. It has a huge impact on us. This gives the company an advantage over its competitors in the south. The general manager at Arges AS in Alta, Bjørnar Bull, does not think the low electricity prices will last forever. – We may have a lower price than the rest of the country for some time to come, but not as extreme as it is right now. Photo: André Bendixen / news Electricity surplus in the north The fact that there is an electricity surplus in northern Norway comes from three things: precipitation, consumption and transmission. In the north, there has been a lot of precipitation so far this year and there is not much energy-intensive industry in the region. Which means that more electricity is produced than is used. In addition, the infrastructure is like a bottleneck between the power grid in the north and Trøndelag, to the rest of the country. This means that there is no capacity to transfer large amounts of electricity from north to south. – Will hardly last Next year, Statnett will introduce a new market system for electricity. This will lead to a new way of praising the power. In addition, there will be a new way of calculating how much electricity is to be transferred between the regions. And when the “bottleneck” is repaired, this through the 420kV line between north and south, there will be many times greater capacity for transmission of electricity between the parts of the country. Then surplus electricity from the north can be transferred to the south, which can lead to electricity prices in the north going up somewhat while prices in the south go down somewhat. – We may have a lower price than the rest of the country for some time to come, but not as extreme as it is right now. thinks Bull.
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The power in the north is a hundred times cheaper than in the south – news Troms and Finnmark
