Frode Alfheim pays tribute to the finance minister for the move. Others are not as impressed.
helge@lomedia.no
On Saturday, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum claimed that the two power cables to Denmark, which expire in 2026, must not be replaced.
Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) responded immediately the same day, when he visited Kragerø together with Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre.
To Telemark newspaper Aasland stated that “Vedum has come out with something he doesn’t know the consequences of yet”.
– We will not grant any license if we believe that the cables are not good for Norwegian companies and households. Then it could also be the opposite. If the cables are of benefit to the Norwegian power market, we will grant a licence.
Get support
If Vedum does not receive immediate support from the Minister of Oil and Energy, he will receive clear support from the LO confederation Industri Energi.
Confederation leader Frode Alfheim is pleased that the government’s finance minister is establishing what Industri Energi has been asking for for a long time.
– Here the politicians have an excellent opportunity to show action, says Frode Alfheim.
Jan-Erik Østlie
– The two oldest cables to Denmark have exported our competitive advantage for 50 years and must be allowed to rest in peace, says Alfheim to FriFagbevegelse.
– Industri Energi has for years warned against foreign cables that export hydropower and import high electricity prices. The reality is that changing governments in the last 30 years, with all parties from SV to FRP, have wanted to build foreign cables to Europe. Now we live with the consequences, he adds.
Alfheim believes there is nothing to suggest that we should or must build out new foreign cables to replace the capacity on Skagerak 1 and 2.
– Enormous capacity has been built after these two came into operation in the 70s. The last two to Germany and Great Britain have a capacity that exceeds the first 16 foreign cables combined, he points out.
At the same time, he claims that Denmark is one of the countries with which Norway has the worst exchange relationship.
– We export mostly all the time, and Denmark has such a poor power balance that they rarely have anything to offer us when we are dependent on imports.
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Refers to the Storting
– The Storting has said that we will not build foreign cables until we have gained experience from the last two cables to Germany and Great Britain. Now, to put it mildly, we have gained experience with the last two foreign cables. Everything suggests that there are more than enough foreign cables as it is. Now the focus must be full pressure on building more power and more networks here at home, so that we return to a situation with a power surplus and electricity prices that are more reasonable and predictable, says Alfheim.
He also refers to the power debate, where there is a lot of talk about us having to take back control.
– Here the politicians have an excellent opportunity to show action. If they do not actively do so, Statnett will be able to renew and increase capacity to Denmark for another 50 years.
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Asking questions
Now anyway, Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland has to answer for himself in the Storting.
Storting representative Ola Elvestuen (Venstre) has sent a written question to Aasland about what the government’s policy is for exchange cables with other countries.
Elvestuen asks whether the government, in line with Finance Minister Vedum’s statements, is considering actively stopping a renewal of the two exchange cables with Denmark.
– The Electricity Price Committee is clear that foreign cables provide better security of supply and less need for the development of power in Norwegian nature. The technical lifetime of two of the exchange cables with Denmark will soon expire, and the question of whether they should and should be renewed has arisen, is the reason for the question.
The left-wing representative believes that the attitude of cutting two of the cables will endanger the electricity supply in Norway.
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2023-11-20 13:34:05
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