Many holiday budgets suffered due to the high electricity prices last summer. This year, things look much better for Norwegian electricity customers. Everything indicates that electricity prices will drop noticeably both for spring and summer compared to last year. Price expectations in the power market have fallen significantly since the New Year. Price drop of over 80 per cent Marius Holm Rennesund works with price forecasts for the power market in the company Thema Consulting. He confirms that the market is calculating increasingly lower prices for the spring and summer of 2023. – For July and August, the market believes that the average price in the Nordics will be around 40 øre, he says. In the most expensive area in Norway, South-West Norway (NO2), electricity prices are now expected to be between 70 and 80 øre in this period. In that case, it is far lower than what was the case last year. Electricity then cost NOK 4 and 30 øre in South-West Norway. This is a price reduction of over 80 per cent, if you calculate without taking any electricity subsidy into account. In the rest of Eastern Norway including Oslo (NO1), the price in August last year was NOK 3 and 40 øre. The prices are taken from statistics on the power exchange Nordpool and are exclusive of VAT. Marius Holm Rennesund says that electricity prices in the summer months will probably be far lower than last year, although they are still historically high. Photo: Hallvard Norum / news More water and record gas reserves According to Rennesund, there are several factors that make the market expect lower electricity prices this summer. One is that the level of filling in the water reservoirs is far better than a year ago. At the same time, gas stocks in Europe are record high in relation to the time of year. – The situation looks much better than a few months ago. For a long time there was a fear that one did not have enough gas to get through the winter. The reasons for the improvement are that they have succeeded in replacing the gas that came in pipes from Russia with natural gas on ships. There has also been a mild winter and lower consumption. – When it comes to the water reservoirs and the snow in the mountains, the situation seems comfortable, not too far from a normal year, says Rennesund. The magazine statistics for week 11 show that the fill rate in Norway is 38.3 per cent. Last year it was 31.2 at the same time, while in a normal year it is 39.6. And the prices of electricity are already on the way down. The prices set for Thursday 23 March are the lowest in over a month. For the areas of Southern and Eastern Norway, the price is 86 øre without VAT and electricity subsidy, while Western Norway has a slightly higher price of 89 øre. Want to produce at the highest price Skagerak Energi is a large power company that produces electricity in the country’s most expensive electricity district, South-West Norway (NO2). Since there are several conditions that can change, they cannot state that the price of electricity will be lower this summer, according to communications manager Thor Bjørn Omnes. But he believes that the market is the best indicator we have. Communications manager at Skagerak Energi, Thor Bjørn Omnes, believes the market is the best indicator we have for how electricity prices will be in the summer. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / news – The degree of filling for the country is close to normal for the time of year, while in our area it is slightly lower than normal for the time of year. Snowmelt and precipitation in spring, summer and autumn will be important for how the situation will be heading into next winter. If gas prices rise again, this will also affect electricity prices. – Will you do something going forward to reduce the risk of a power crisis next winter? – Producers always try to match their production to the periods when the demand for electricity is highest, within the limits given by reservoir levels, inflows and licences. He goes on to say that all producers make their own, separate assessments and choose their own strategy for production. This is also the best guarantee that we will not end up in an electricity crisis, Omnes believes.
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Tracks lower electricity prices in the summer months – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
