Circus Power Prize

Sirkus Strømpris is a modern circus, ie wake up. So there are no animals in it, only humans. But will it hit the road?

Or the Norwegian Food Safety Authority intervenes – despite the absence of herd animals.

Because there are many strange things here.

To avoid the circus Jonas Kahr Storr had invited NHO and LO to a meeting at the Prime Minister’s office this Monday. It was clear early on that the Conservative Party would no longer support the circus – that is, calling the Storting to an extraordinary meeting about electricity prices.

The government has now initiated measures to the satisfaction of the conservatives, and it does not require a meeting in the Storting to implement it.

Actions that went a long way in responding to the challenges Norway now faces.

Store & Co was there announced the introduction of electricity subsidies for households above 90 percent of the electricity price of 70 øre per kWh. It had also announced that it would work with the Electricity Subsidy Scheme for Enterprises.

In addition, the Ap/Sp government will introduce a minimum target for filling reservoirs, where restrictions on exports will be appropriate if levels fall below this.

In other words, measures to manage financial risk for people and businesses and security of supply.

and, not least, measures with the support of the Conservative Party, which has a majority in the Storting.

Others wanted to Storting has a circus. FRP at lightning speed on Monday. Not primarily with attacks on the government, but attacks on the right.

The FRP is looking to its old government partner on the issue, and now the Conservatives have turned them down for a round saying they are satisfied with the government’s handling of the matter.

Now they’re really going to feel the sting.

Listhaug fired back in a press release on Monday: The Conservative Party has now “given people some crumbs and vague formulas about electricity support for businesses, and suddenly they’re back”.

FRP must be an oddity Bread is related to food. Electricity subsidies for households already accepted will cost NOK 22 billion this year. That was before it was further strengthened. In addition, there will be an electricity support program for companies that no one has yet spent.

Crumbs?

A modest room for maneuver in the state budget over the next few years – meaning that a government can increase spending beyond what it already has – is approximately NOK four billion.

22 billion is already overflowing with buns. In addition to what the government has done in recent days in terms of measures against electricity prices, it may have to bear more barrels.

If it is a snippet to the FRP, they should not call for an extraordinary meeting with the Storting. They should call in an extraordinary appointment with a dietitian.

There is a power crisis Real. It affects people and businesses, and poses a real risk to power supplies this winter. After the war in Ukraine, a new reality is knocking on the door with high tariffs.

Then the solutions also need to interact with reality.

Due to power shortage, prices are likely to rise for a long time. Power support must last for a long time, and it must not raise the temperature in the economy, which will boil over with even higher inflation and interest rates.

It is also true Energy shortages in Europe. FRP’s answer to Norway is to build more gas-fired power plants. The party’s response is that more power is needed, as the party has long opposed wind power.

So the FRP wants to use the gas that Europe depends entirely on to keep from freezing over in the winter, should Putin decide to turn off the good pipeline.

Some like solutions. Some people are a little late in discovering them. Others want the circus. It is important to distinguish between them.