Municipalities and county councils received a letter today stating that the reduction in the framework subsidy will not be as large as the government first signalled. – This is gratifying for both people, businesses and many municipalities in Norway, says Minister for Municipalities and Districts Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp). news has been in contact with a dozen “power mayors”, who are not quite as happy as the minister suggests: Petter Sortland (Ap), mayor in Høyanger: – It is good that they are listening, but the need for adjustment already now I think this was a hasty arrangement. Jonas A. Sayed (KrF), mayor of Sokndal: – I am cautiously waiting until I see what this is worth to us in kroner and øre. Arnstein Menes (Sp), mayor of Sogndal: – This is a step in the right direction, but far from the solution. See more reactions below: – Incredibly clumsy handling from the start by Audun Mo (Ap), mayor of Lærdal – I’m glad the ministry has come to its senses. But I want to be careful not to be too happy. There are still things that remain to be clarified, and I have not yet received a signal about the size of the drawdown. Hilde Enstad, mayor of Kvinnherad – I am satisfied that the municipal minister finally realizes that he cannot collect income that the municipalities cannot realize. The move for our municipality, Kvinnherad, will still be far more than the three parts that Vedum and Støre outlined at the press conference in September. And which we have included in our budget. We have to work further to adjust our figure in framework grants to where we have included in our budget. Petter Sortland, Høyanger – Good that they are listening, and this is a step in the right direction. But the need for adjustment already shows that this was a hasty arrangement. Jonas A. Sayed, mayor of Sokndal – It is certainly a good signal that the municipal minister has taken the criticism to heart, but I am cautiously waiting until I see what this means for us in kroner and øre. This whole case has been incredibly clumsily handled from the start, and has caused a lot of unnecessary unrest in the municipalities. I also don’t see any recognition that municipalities that have not paid anything for the high electricity prices anyway – such as Sokndal – should be shielded, so the last word has not been said on this. Arnstein Menes, mayor of Sogndal – This is a step in the right direction, but far from a solution to the issue that has caused so much dissatisfaction. We still don’t know anything about the percentage of about a third, which was 93 per cent above 70 øre/kwh. The case is still not sufficiently resolved, and we are still waiting for answers to many questions. Anders Vatle, Mayor of Eidfjord – I have not seen the formal letter from KDD yet, and have asked the administration to notify me as soon as we have received it. A concern for me is whether the municipal budget and service management in the municipalities that have received this move will still be exposed to the risk of fluctuating electricity prices. Ove Trellevik, Høgre – It was time. It is a paradox that the Minister of Local Government used NOK 2 as the basis, when the Minister of Business and Industry travels far and wide to tell that the power agreements for business are now well below NOK 1. For several municipalities, the reversal will now be welcome, but the challenges for some are that they are already pushing investment plans and other things. Lars Haltbrekken, SV – It is good that they are reducing the cut. Certain municipalities were strongly affected by this. – This is gratifying for both people, businesses and many municipalities in Norway, says Minister for Municipalities and Districts Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp). Photo: Gunhild Hjermundrud / Gunhild Hjermundrud The decision went down like “a bomb” Before Christmas, the Storting passed a one-year increase in the framework subsidy of NOK 3 billion in 2023. The decision went down like “a bomb” in several of the so-called power municipalities, which raised joint busts . In January, a couple of mayors from several power municipalities traveled to the capital to go to court with the municipal minister. The mayors also had courses for the Prime Minister’s office, but “meeting collisions” meant that Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) still did not have the opportunity to meet them. The local government minister has also had to explain himself to the Storting. – We received an acknowledgment that it was not a perfect system, said Voss mayor Hans Erik Ringkjøb to news following the “washing up”. In January, Hans-Erik Ringkjøb (Ap) and a couple of other mayors from several power municipalities traveled to the capital to go to court with the municipal minister. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese The Prime Minister expects the power municipalities to “contribute extra” Criticism of the drawdown has so far followed several tracks: The electricity price on which the calculation is based is too high (2 kroner). Most analysts believe the average price in 2023 will be significantly lower, closer to NOK 1 per kilowatt hour. The cuts affect different regions of the country. The distribution key is not transparent enough and “difficult to get hold of”. share in the price increase) will be “punished for being in solidarity” In the new reduction, the ministry will address several of the points of appeal. The new annual estimate for electricity prices is based on the spot price so far in 2023, and forward prices for the rest of the year. The final size of the drawdown will be further adjusted in December, in connection with the new balancing of the budget for 2023. Minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp) says he expects the power municipalities to “contribute extra” at a time when they have large additional income. – But the move must be in a reasonable relationship with the additional income they can actually realize, he clarifies. The revenues of the power municipalities were NOK 4 billion in 2021. For comparison, calculations show that they amount to NOK 13 billion in 2022 and NOK 11 billion this year. Stakaldefoss power plant is a hydropower plant in Sunnfjord municipality in Vestland. Photo: Oddmund Reisæter Haugen – Trust in the ministry was put to a serious test – We have listened to the municipalities. This feature of extraordinarily high incomes must be as straight as possible. We cannot base a move on too high a spot price, says parliamentary representative for the Labor Party, Lene Vågslid. The head of the National Association of Vasskraftkommunar (LVK), Jon Rolf Næss, tells news that trust in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs “was put to a serious test” when the municipalities were notified on 22 December of an “incomprehensible large move”. – We are happy with the signal the government is sending. But the municipalities will continue to follow the matter closely, until we concretely know what kind of figures the government will finally come up with. KS director Helge Eide has previously stated that he has “registered partly strong reactions” in Municipality-Norway and has asked himself whether the basis for the move is well enough formed. Today he praises the government for the turnaround: – This is a wise political move by the government. – We cannot base a move on too high a spot price, says parliamentary representative for the Labor Party, Lene Vågslid. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NPK
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The state turns to pressure – take less from the power municipalities – news Vestland
