The rain has poured down on both Southern and Eastern Norway in the last couple of days. But if you had hoped that it would ensure lower electricity prices, you’ll probably have to think again. – All the rain that is coming now will probably be used to save. So it probably won’t affect the price that much, because you have to ensure delivery security in the spring. That’s what Tor Reier Lilleholt, power analyst and head of analysis at Value Insight, says. Much of the rainfall that is coming now must therefore be saved to ensure that the water reservoirs do not run out in the slightly longer term. – The price level will persist until next spring, in my opinion, he says. Even if the autumn rains are waiting around the corner, it will probably not affect electricity prices very much, believes power analyst Tor Reier Lilleholt. Photo: Asbjørn Odd Berge / news Slight decline in the southwest Every week, Norway’s Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE) publishes fresh figures showing how the water reservoirs are doing. Nationally, the degree of filling in the magazines increased by 0.4 per cent last week, the figures from NVE show. But in South-West and South-East Norway, where the flow is heavy, the degree of filling decreased slightly. In South-West Norway, the filling rate is now down to 50.1 per cent. See the table below for a full overview. That there was a slight decline was no surprise for Lilleholt. – Last week we had a small heat wave in the south, so it’s no wonder that there was less opportunity to fill up the magazines, he says. May be more expensive in central Norway In central Norway, there was also slightly less water in the reservoirs. The occupancy rate is now 88 percent. But it is actually good news, says Lilleholt. The water reservoirs there have been so full that there was a danger that water would have to be released. Recently, the electricity price in the area has been below 1 øre per kWh. – In sum, the outlook is that the magazines are not so full, so you can raise the prices, he says. Still hope Even if there is little water in the reservoirs, there is still hope for better times, the power analyst believes. – In southern Norway, we have hardly seen such a low degree of filling, but it is not far from what we have seen many times before. Such low magazines have been handled several times in the past, says Lilleholt. Autumn is also just around the corner, and that is often good news for both the water reservoirs and everyone who likes rain. – There are still several months left before the most critical levels are seen, because the magazines can be filled up in the autumn. And it is the wettest season, Lilleholt explains further. Ideally, he says, the degree of filling should be up to around 55 per cent before the New Year, so that the winter will not be too challenging. Savings on water Figures also came out on Wednesday which show that only 3 per cent of power production in southern Norway comes from water reservoirs where water could have been saved. – This is historically low, says a satisfied Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap). Water conservation is helping to ensure that the security of supply is also better now than it was at the start of the summer. The power producers also produce less electricity than usual. NVE director Kjetil Lund believes the figures show that the power producers have now listened to the authorities’ calls to save. – The long-term trend is that the filling rate is on the way up, and that manufacturers are holding back, says Lund. New electricity price record – again On Thursday, a new electricity price record will also be set in this country. The highest prices will be in South-West Norway. Between 6 and 7 p.m., the electricity price there will be NOK 5.89 per kilowatt hour (kWh). Read more: New electricity price record on Thursday This shows preliminary figures from the websites of the electricity exchange Nord Pool. In south-east Norway the price is NOK 4.43 per kWh at its highest, in central Norway the price is NOK 0.25, in northern Norway the price is NOK 0.015 and in western Norway the price is NOK 3.41. South-west Norway also receives the highest 24-hour electricity price, with NOK 5.26 per kWh.
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Think electricity prices will remain high until next spring – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
