– We cannot take it for granted that we have enough energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr (AP) says Friday morning during a press conference on securing Norway’s energy supply.
continued:
Today we are rolling out measures to enhance security of supply and ensure we always have enough electricity.
Last year, the cost of electricity was much higher than usual.
As a background, the prime minister points out that Russia’s stranglehold on power in the European market has made the security of supplies more turbulent, which has also hit Norway hard.
– We said that the most important thing is to control our most important source of energy, hydropower.
The PM also says the measures they are introducing now will ensure that we don’t ultimately have to ration in the future.
He adds that our reliance on power will increase in line with the increased use of force.
Everything that can be electrified must be electrified.
According to the Prime Minister, it is likely that in the future we will also have energy production that depends on the weather, which may affect the amount of water in the reservoirs.
Five measures
The government is introducing an administrative mechanism that includes these measures:
- The government can keep water in reservoirs in case of uncertainty or real danger of power shortage.
- The government will issue legislation stating that producers are responsible for contributing to securing energy supplies.
- The government will formalize the reporting scheme for hydroelectric power producers from summer 2022,
- Requiring producers to develop strategies to ensure security of supply, as well as providing access to energy authorities to supervise and control it
- It is open to limiting exports abroad in cases where there is a real danger of energy shortage.
More stringent requirements
The press conference was also attended by Oil and Energy Minister Terje Asland.
– The 2021-2022 Energy Situation Review concluded that the Norwegian energy system is now more vulnerable to unexpected events than before. He says in a press release that with the change in the law that we have now embarked on, we affirm the responsibility of producers to contribute to the security of supply.
Determined in the press conference:
– The measures will give energy authorities the opportunity to closely monitor storage allocation and imply that stricter requirements are being put in place for energy producers.
It can be submitted before legalization
During the press conference, he also said that there was uncertainty as to how much and when export restrictions would be used, but that there was room for maneuver within EEA law that the government wanted to take advantage of.
Therefore, he says, for reasons of security of supply, export restrictions could be imposed even before Norway is in a potential rationing mode.
The government says work to formalize the new measures will begin immediately. Norway’s Directorate of Water Resources and Energy has been tasked by the government to start the regulatory work of the measures, while at the same time the Ministry of Oil and Energy begins drafting laws.
The price of electricity may increase
NVE director Kjetil Lund admits that the new measures where there is little water in the tanks could lead to higher electricity prices. But for the time being, he does not fear for the security of supplies next season.
– There was a lot of snow in the mountains, so we think the situation is naturally good in terms of the electricity situation this year. It’s hard to say what happens to the price. Prices are still at a higher level than we used to, magazines are going down, but that’s normal for this time of year, Kjetil Lund tells TV 2.
Red: – Too bad
The government thinks in red Do not take more control on energy exports with its new procedures.
– That’s too bad, is the verdict of Sophie Marhaug (right), who sits on the Parliament’s Energy and Environment Committee.
She points out that the measures presented by the government on Friday, which will secure energy supply in the long term, will not have an impact on the electricity situation this winter and the rise in electricity prices.
The Progress Party also believes that the government’s measures will not lower electricity prices. In a statement, the party also wrote that the waterways must be almost completely dry before the mechanism can be put into operation.
It is surprising that the ruling parties do not defy regulations and exploit the political space for action that we should have as an energy superpower.
Right-wing energy policy spokesman Nikolai Astrup has been trolling the government’s package of measures today as an attempt to appear energetic.
– But that’s knocking on open doors. The new measures are actually regularizing the practice, formalizing the reporting that companies already do, Astrup says, adding that the most important measure to secure Norway’s energy supply is to build more renewable energy. Astrup believes proposals to levy land rent on onshore wind and reduce offshore wind development in Sørlig Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord are measures in the opposite direction.
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