Belgium questioned Støre for much less expensive gas – obtained a “awesome” no – VG

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In accordance to the Belgian newspaper The commonPrimary Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (AP) reacted “coldly” to Belgium’s demand from customers for cheaper fuel when he met his Belgian colleague Alexander de Kroo in Stavanger on Monday.

“The Norwegian prime minister is not keen to help reduce our gasoline expenses,” the newspaper wrote Tuesday.

In several rounds, Belgium has referred to as for a cap on the rate of fuel. Alexander de Kroo is the most current in a series of European leaders who have turned to the Norwegian prime minister and demanded both higher deliveries of Norwegian fuel, and a value that implies their people get electrical power rates they can are living with.

Alarm

Belgium’s Power Minister, Tinne Van der Straeten, pushed even more difficult, demanding that gas charges be immediately frozen:

According to the BBC, on Monday he reported EU countries deal with “5 to 10 cruel winters” if absolutely nothing is done promptly to manage runaway strength prices.

I will need to talk to the companies

Støre was unavailable for remark on Tuesday. But the Minister of Oil and Energy Terje Aasland (Ap), who attended the assembly, tells VG:

– I feel it was a very good assembly.

And he adds:

Jonas was concerned that the measurements had to be meticulously considered. Numerous nations around the world have contacted Norway for long-time period fuel shipping contracts, at reasonable costs. He suggests the same issue to every person: you have to speak to the organizations functioning on the Norwegian continental shelf. There are people who offer with the sale of fuel.

– Do Europeans experience that Norway is not significantly eager to lead to the acute electrical energy rate crisis appropriate now?

– Norwegian providers will provide extra fuel to the European market this calendar year, corresponding to 100 TWh more than very last year. This is virtually two-thirds of what the Norwegian electrical energy process makes. It is a major contribution. The firms on the shelf are enthusiastic by a desire to be a predictable participant and I imagine they do it in a extremely good way, Aasland replies.

Norway received earlier criticism of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieckithat he thought that Norway was gaining indirectly from the war in Ukraine and that Norway ought to share the oil and gas gains.

The EU intervenes

Now the EU will also intervene in the electricity industry. European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen announced the information in days:

– We require to build a resource that can be set in place in the coming times and weeks, which makes sure that the value of fuel no longer controls the rate of electricity, von der Leyen said in Berlin on Monday evening.

Not invited

EU electrical power ministers will meet up with for casual talks in Prague next Friday, 9 September. Aasland claims he was not invited to this assembly, but it was not customary to invite Norway to informal conferences possibly.

The govt has also not been consulted by the EU on what measures can be taken.

– It is not unnatural for the EU to mirror on what can be carried out in this circumstance. We have previously taken various measures, this sort of as inquiring electricity producers to keep drinking water in their tanks when the degree of fill is low and a management system that can someway limit energy exports, Aasland tells VG.

– Is the EU thinking of the risk of disconnecting the price of electrical power from the selling price of fuel?

– It can be an exciting proposal, even if I do not know anything about how it should really be arranged. But Europe has lived well for two decades by acquiring fuel at the spot selling price. We feel the very best factor above time is not to intervene and tackle the gas market place as it is now, when shortage and uncertainty are the induce of the problem and rates, Aasland claims.

Intrusive price tag ceiling

– A doable EU measure is to cap immediate electric power rates. But it will be incredibly invasive, Fabian Rønningen, an analyst at Rystad Energy, tells VG.

– Simply because if the value of electrical power sources such as coal and gasoline is higher – who will pay out the deposit, he asks.

But Rønningen claims the EU can attain practical experience from member states Spain and Portugal, which have capped gasoline charges for a period of time:

– Given that it is the price tag of gas that mostly establishes the price tag of electrical energy in these international locations, they have managed to lessen the output cost of electrical energy, so that the state pays the interim payment. This worked effectively there, he claims.

According to Rønningen, one more choice is for the EU to copy the Norwegian energy subsidy by compensating consumers and for a huge portion of the electricity bill to be protected at rates above a selected amount.

But analyst Rystad will make it crystal clear that this far too has a downside:

– Gets rid of the incentive to preserve electrical energy, which the marketplace is in fact really good at, says Rønningen.

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