Thor Dag Halvorsen from Borgerhaugen in Sarpsborg allowed himself to be tempted by an electricity salesman from NordlysEnergi in 2021.
The electricity agreement “Top 3 Garanti” had zero mark-up on the spot price, no monthly fee and a duration of twelve months.
– If I did not resign, the agreement would only continue with the same terms. I let it go. I thought they don’t change the terms without notifying me. But they have done that, he says.
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Last Friday he got a shock when he started to scrutinize his utility bills from the last few months. For several months, he has paid NOK 1.35 per kWh. Sarpsborg is located in the South-East Norway current zone (NO1).
2023 Average price in the electricity zone without VAT. Price for Halvorsen without VAT. March
NOK 1.12 per kWh
NOK 1.5 per kWh April
NOK 1.1 per kWh
NOK 1.35 per kWh May 0.78 øre per kWh NOK 1.35 per kWh June
0.73 øre per kWh
NOK 1.35 per kWh July
0.36 øre per kWh
NOK 1.06 per kWh August 0.2 øre per kWh NOK 1.06 per kWh
The amounts are without value added tax of 25 percent. The figures are taken from Nordpool and Halvorsen’s bills from NordlysEnergi.
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Got angry
Halvorsen pays significantly more per month than what the average price has been in the electricity zone.
– Then I got angry. What in heaven’s name is this?
He sent an e-mail to the electricity company and contacted the Consumer Council.
– Is this legal? I have never received any notification that the agreement has been changed. I am of course furious, he says.
Halvorsen has the “Top 3 Guarantee” electricity agreement.
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– Was so very expensive
– Why didn’t you discover this until now?
– That is a good question. It goes by direct debit. The prices were very expensive this winter. When it came down to a thousand, it’s not so crazy. But I use little electricity in the summer, so in the end I thought ‘this can’t be right’, he says.
There have been several media reports throughout the winter about sky-high electricity prices and Norwegians having to shell out several thousand kroner for electricity. It became the new normal.
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But another person had also moved in with him during the period. He thought electricity became more expensive as a result.
– I should probably have seen it before, he adds.
In the electricity agreement, it is stated in detail that “it is a stable agreement that follows the market. The customer pays NOK 0 in monthly installments. The Top 3 guarantee is equipped with a competitor guarantee measured against a reference list of our competitors”.
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Will not answer questions
Nettavisen has tried to get answers from managing director and majority owner Stefan Manov to the following questions:
1. Why have you taken these surcharges?
2. What kind of power agreement does Halvorsen actually have today?
3. What deal was he transferred to, and when?
4. In the agreement you signed with him, it states that the agreement must follow the market. Why doesn’t the agreement do that?
5. “Top 3 Guarantee” should, according to the agreement we have seen, be among the cheapest on an annual basis. Are you going to lower the price significantly in the next few months for Halvorsen to make this happen? Or is it a lie?
Manov will not answer these questions.
NordlysEnergi has been in the media’s spotlight in recent years. Capital revealed in May 2022 that NordlysEnergi ripped off electricity customers for millions with hidden surcharges.
At the time, Manov stated that the margins are no different from the rest of the electricity industry on spot prices and variable agreements. Several power sellers also came out against the company in an article in E24 May 2022. The sellers had thought they were selling electricity at the spot price, but Manov told the newspaper that the sellers must have misunderstood.
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Believes journalists are not interested in facts
– Do you feel guilty when both electricity customers and electricity sellers feel cheated?
– Do you feel guilty when both you as a journalist and very few other journalists are not interested in facts, but only in promoting manipulative and enticing articles with self-interest? Because it is quite clear to me that you have not familiarized yourself with the facts and that the person in question has misunderstood something, says Stefan Manov to Nettavisen.
Nettavisen has tried to get Manov to elaborate on what we are misunderstanding and which factual errors he is referring to, but he has not wanted to explain this.
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Contacted customer service
In front of Nettavisen, he also encourages Halvorsen to contact customer service. Halvorsen has already done that:
– I found out that they were referring to a list (LOS list) where companies that offered similar agreements presented their prices. It was therefore in relation to this list that they should be one of the three cheapest – not in relation to spot price. According to her, spot price has nothing to do with this agreement, he says.
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Strøm founder and general manager Manov has been presented with the answers Halvorsen is said to have received from customer service. He also did not want to comment on this.
Halvorsen is said to have emphasized to customer service that the seller had sold it as a spot price agreement.
– But it didn’t help, she said. Then it’s probably just a matter of biting the bitter apple and paying the bill and waiting three months to be able to change supplier, concludes Halvorsen.
2023-09-18 06:45:40
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