– Unfair, exclaims Katharina Spinner. She lives in Sande in Vestfold, which belongs to the Sørlandet stream region. The government has responded to the criticism by asking for advice from an expert group in the Power Price Committee. On Thursday, the government will be handed the report. What is new this year is that the price differences have not only been large between Northern Norway and Southern Norway. This summer, the easterners enjoyed low electricity prices, while the Spinner family received the very highest prices in the country. – We were certainly not aware of that. It is very interesting, Spinner continues. Katharina Spinner and her husband Darius often turn on the dishwasher when the electricity is at its cheapest. Photo: Sindre Thoresen Lønnes / news She and her husband grew up in Poland and Germany and have always been concerned with saving electricity. Recently, they have taken many measures in their house. The electricity price is checked every morning, and the daily routine is laid out accordingly. The electricity bill has become a major expenditure item for the family. The fact that in September they had to pay 58 times more for electricity than their neighbors across the stream is incomprehensible to them. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) is looking forward to receiving the report with possible solutions to the price differences. – It will be exciting to see if there are measures where we can follow up to achieve price stabilization between the regions, he says to news. Lower price in Eastern Norway Namely, Norway is divided into five electricity regions with different prices for electricity: Eastern Norway, Southern Norway, Central Norway, Northern Norway and Western Norway. According to Statnett, the price ranges are important in order to increase the utilization of the grid and thus achieve a more efficient operation of the entire power system. Just across the stream from the Spinner couple, we meet Dag Ragnar Larsen. Dag Ragnar Larsen lives in Drammen municipality and paid less for electricity than his neighbors who live in Holmestrand municipality in the month of August. Photo: Sindre Thoresen Lønnes / news He lives in Drammen and belongs to the stream region of Eastern Norway. This summer he has benefited from low electricity prices. Several times he has actually made money from using electricity. – There is a significant difference. It’s almost so it’s a bit embarrassing, he says, who often talks to the parents in the other electricity region about the price of electricity. He has experienced negative electricity prices at the same time as his parents in the neighboring county have complained about high electricity prices. The electricity price in the various electricity regions on a randomly selected day in August. August 16. Photo: GRAPHIC: FAKSIMILE/NORDPOOL Rages against injustice And it is not only those who live in the most expensive electricity regions who react. Both in business and politics, you can feel it on your body. – There is no good reason why the inhabitants of this region should find themselves living with the highest electricity prices, says Jonny Liland. Jonny Liland is the mayor of Sirdal and represents the Labor Party. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news He is the mayor of the power municipality Sirdal in Agder, and believes the system allows someone to earn a lot of money. – My opinion is that it should be used to equalize prices so that residents and businesses in this region get low electricity prices, at least as in Oslo, he says. Major natural interventions have been made to produce electricity in Sirdal. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news The mayor finds it despairing to meet businesses and residents who find it strange and unreasonable that the region where the power is produced has the highest prices. Therefore, the mayor can no longer sit still. – It is completely unreasonable that the citizens and businesses in a region of the country have to live with higher prices precisely because we contribute so much. I think that is wrong and I think that the authorities must do something about it, he says. – But you as a municipality earn quite well, don’t you? – The owner municipalities make money, but it is the state that is the major player here and has the tools, he says. Statnett is expanding the electricity capacity in Sirdal, among other things, to transport the power abroad. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Part of the reason why Southern Norway has the highest electricity prices is precisely the cables to foreign countries: That is why South-West Norway (NO2) has had higher electricity prices in the last six months 1: Large water reservoirs in Southern Norway can save on water so that they do not need to produce power when the electricity price is low. There are five times as many water reservoirs in Southern Norway compared to Eastern Norway. 2: The electricity price is more linked to the electricity price in Europe due to cables to four different countries. 3: Limited transmission network to southern Norway from other parts of the country. According to Statnett, the low prices in Eastern and Western Norway this summer are mainly due to a lot of rainfall, relatively small storage options for the water, low electricity consumption and limited opportunities to transfer the electricity to other areas. In South-West Norway, there is space to store water in the reservoirs for the winter, and the water reservoirs had normal filling for the season. When the producers can save water, it will result in a higher price than in Eastern Norway and Western Norway, where the producers had no opportunity to save water. In addition, because there are connections to the continent and to the UK, prices in the South West are more affected by prices there. In Eastern Norway, Central and Northern Norway, prices are more influenced by Swedish prices. Statnett writes in an e-mail to news that in the last decade they have invested more than NOK 70 billion to strengthen the main power grid. They are working on several projects to strengthen the central transport channels in the Norwegian power system. In the long term, combined with the development of more production, it will even out electricity prices, they believe. I don’t think electricity prices will be record high this winter Energy analyst Tor Reier Lilleholt keeps a close eye on electricity prices. He explains that prices in Southern Norway have been higher since the spring because the snowmelt in Eastern Norway filled the reservoirs so that prices there were lower. He does not believe that electricity prices this winter will break new records. He believes in equal prices in Southern Norway and Eastern Norway. Tor Reier Lilleholt himself lives in what in recent months has become Norway’s most expensive electricity area. Photo: Leif Dalen / news – We set the records last year, but it is clear that the level is now at a slightly higher level than what has been seen in the last 30 years, he says. The energy analyst believes the price will be around NOK 1, but that for consumers the electricity bills will be pretty much the same as last year because the electricity subsidy occurs when the price rises above NOK 70. The Electricity Price Committee has looked at how Norway can reduce price contagion from Europe. On Thursday, Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland will hand over to the committee his proposals for which measures in the short and long term can ensure lower and more predictable prices, within the room for maneuver in the EEA agreement. Darius Spinner makes sure to charge the electric car when the electricity price is at its lowest. He lives in what has recently been Norway’s most expensive electricity region. Photo: Sindre Thoresen Lønnes / news
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– Unfair – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
