– It is crazy that the wind and hydropower nation Norway is unable to supply its citizens with cheap power. And the worst thing is that the politicians are clearly unable to get anything done about it, says Rune Sørlie from Alta. The construction worker from Tverrelvdalen is not the only one who has his own opinion about the reason for the prices. Today is another day with soaring electricity prices in Norway. In Northern Norway, the spot price is 5.33 per kWh this afternoon, while Central Norway will end up at 6.66 kWh in the same period. In South-West, South-East and West Norway, the peak today will be 8.78 per kWh. Despite the high electricity prices in Norway, they are still below many countries in Europe today. Also in the comments section, there are many people who ask themselves why the price of electricity is so high in Norway. The short answer from a power analyst: The war in Ukraine. But is it really that simple? The comment fields in news about high electricity prices. Photo: Skjermdump / news – Need better agreements Electricity prices in Norway have been regulated by the free market since 1991, through the Energy Act from 1991. The act included Norway in the free market for trading in electricity. In addition, the agreement with ACER, which Norway signed in March 2018, has entered into force. When changes occur in the power market in Europe, the power market in Norway will also be affected. Sørlie i Alta believes, like several of news’s readers, that it is completely wrong for Norway to export the electricity we need ourselves. He believes that the politicians owe it to the citizens to negotiate better agreements so that we secure ourselves first. – We generally do not have a power shortage in Norway. And we have many power projects ready for development. Therefore, the politicians should ensure that we ourselves have enough electricity, before we export this to Europe. But the politicians do little or nothing. – What is happening now with electricity prices, I believe, is due to failed policies since the 90s, says Sørlie. – The war is to blame Power analyst at Insight by Volue, Tor Reier Lilleholt, says the war in Ukraine is mainly to blame for the high electricity prices. The war has created an imbalance in the power situation in Europe. European countries have had to look for alternatives to Russian gas, and this has led to an increase in the price of electricity. But it is the Energy Act from 1991 and ACER that make Norway vulnerable to fluctuations in Europe. Nevertheless, Lilleholt believes that the agreements do more good than bad. – We would have had a price of 50 øre per kWh without the war in Ukraine. So Norway is clearly “infected” by extremely high power prices in Europe. Why the high prices have now also crept northwards, says Lilleholt, is because the electricity has been sent southwards. – Northern Norway has exported as much as 10 TWh to the south. This has resulted in slightly higher electricity prices in the north, and lower in the south. The power has gone through southern Norway, and out to Europe. In this sense, Northern Norway has helped to keep prices a little lower in Europe as well. 10 TWh corresponds to a third of the entire power production in Northern Norway for one year. According to Faktisk.no, a record amount of electricity was exported abroad last year. The war in Europe is the main reason for the high electricity prices in Norway. In combination with electricity agreements with the EU. – But we are dependent on these agreements, says power analyst Tor Reier Lilleholt. Photo: Asbjørn Odd Berge / news – Of course we can cut the cables and say that we will use all power internally. And in a normal year this will go well. We have a reasonably good surplus of power. But what happens when we then have to import electricity, because the weather and wind do not cooperate? – Then the electricity would be much more expensive without the agreements and the cables to Europe, he adds. – What is the solution to reduce electricity prices in Norway then? – We must reduce consumption. Install heat pumps and solar panels. And here the state should step in with financial compensation. In addition, we must have more power production. And maybe we have to look at solutions with battery packs for private households, says Lilleholt. – Working with solutions Head of the energy and environment committee in the Storting, Marianne Sivertsen Næss, believes that it is not only the Energy Act of 1991 and ACER, which are to blame for the high electricity prices. She points out that two nuclear power plants in Sweden are out of operation, and that right now we have cold weather and little wind. This in addition to the war in Ukraine. Chair of the energy and environment committee in the Storting, Marianne Sivertsen Næss (Ap), wants to improve the electricity agreements Norway has with Europe. She believes these no longer work well for Norway. Photo: Eirik Sørenmo Påsche What she is quite clear about, however, is that the Energy Act from 1991 no longer works as the politicians want. – The Energy Act from 1991 has worked, but it no longer does. We must now look at the connections in the power grid again, and take some action. The Energy Commission is currently reviewing everything about our power system and will have a conclusion ready before the new year. The goal here is for Norway to first secure itself with electricity before it is exported to Europe, says Sivertsen Næss. – We have not had to ration, nor have we had to expand power production more than necessary. Now we must prepare for the situation today and for the future. – We fire with wood as long as we can. Not because we have to, but because the wood provides the best heat, says Rune Sørlie in Alta. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news – Firing with wood Back home at Rune Sørlie’s, the wood is being fired. Even though the father of the family has signed a fixed price agreement for electricity, he likes to throw a log or two in the stove. – We must not burn wood, since we have a fixed price agreement for electricity. But I think that the wood gives the best heat. And then I like to walk in the woods. We use approximately five cubic meters of wood during the year, both birch and alder, and are self-sufficient. – So until the EU puts in place a federation against wood burning, we are going to burn with wood, says Rune Sørlie.
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Why is electricity so expensive? – The politicians are to blame – news Troms and Finnmark
