Electricity prices in Norway are determined by the energy exchange in the North Nord Pole. They set the price a day in advance, for five different regions in the country.
There is now a huge difference in the cost of kilowatt-hours. From central Norway and north, prices have fallen to less than 10 øre. It is ten times smaller than in southern and western Norway.
Stena Johansen is Director of Communications at Nord Bull. She says there are two reasons it is so cheap from central and northern Norway.
There is a better situation in the reservoirs than in southern Norway. In addition, it blows a lot, especially in northern Sweden. This means that they produce a lot of wind energy, which central and northern Norway benefits from.
Stena Johansson at the Nord Bowl
Photo: Nord Bull
Almost free
– Tomorrow the average price of a kilowatt will be 7.43 øre in central Norway. It’s very cheap.
That’s what Stig Tore Laugen says. He is the executive vice president of Trønderenergi, and notes that electricity prices are rarely low now.
– Between 14 and 15 tomorrow a kilowatt costs about 3.3 øre, so just charge what you have, if you want the lowest price.
Logan says the reason for the price drop is bad weather. It’s raining and blowing in central Norway. In addition, the supply lines to Sweden are good, and a lot of wind energy is being produced there now.
– In addition, we produce a lot of wind energy even in central Norway now. The turbines are operating at full capacity. Water tanks are also well stocked.
Supply and demand
When Nord Pool calculates the price of electricity, they look at the difference between supply and demand. In addition, it comes down to the amount of energy that can be transferred from one area to another.
This is exactly what allows the price to vary depending on where in the country you live.
– There are grid restrictions from central Norway and the south, which means the power is off a little bit somehow, says Johansen of Nord Bull.
Although a lot of electricity is produced in some parts of the country, it does not necessarily help the price in other places.
– We’ve seen throughout 2021 that prices varied greatly from southern Norway and northern, she says.
You can get paid for using electricity
In fact, if the weather continues to be bad or good, depending on how you look at it, over the next few days, some customers may actually be able to get paid to use electricity for a few hours.
Precisely because the electricity is fresh. It should be used for something once it has been produced.
– In the next few days we can see that the price will either be 0 kr per kilowatt, or you really get the money to use the electricity, says Stig Tore Laugen in Trønderenergi.
Stig Tore Laugen in Tronderenergi
Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / NRK
But since you still have to pay electricity tax and network rent, there is no point in looking up the green numbers at the online bank.
– When you pay 3.3 or less for electricity, the electricity is almost free. We can’t do anything about the surcharge, but the spot rate is very low, says Logan.
Skiing weather is good for something
There has been some rainfall in central Norway in recent days. It’s been raining so far in most places, but it’s reasonable to assume that snow will eventually take over.
“Then we can’t make use of hydropower in the same way, until the snow melts again,” Logan explains.
He says that wind power will help a lot in the fall and winter, because it blows more in those two seasons. Logan believes that wind power complements hydro power well in these seasons.
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