Butcher Jens Eide in Lillesand has had his electricity bill multiply over the past year. He believes the high prices create an unhealthy business environment.
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Normally, the Eide slaughterhouse in Lillesand has electricity costs of between NOK 150,000 and 200,000 a month.
In recent months, the bill has exceeded NOK 700,000, he tells VG.
– The last electricity bill was 756 per cent above normal. Electricity prices take the entire operating margin, says Eide.
– The authorities must realize that action must be taken. When the normal household has received its support, most people have received theirs, then no one cares about the business world.
The butchery industry is very power-intensive, according to Eide.
First, the meat must be cooled down, then processed, reheated to become a product, then cooled down again.
– Then it must be in a cold chain until it reaches the store, says Eide.
– It’s current and current and current.
It was The friend of the fatherland who first wrote about butcher Jens Eide’s high electricity costs.
–Threatens safe workplaces
Eide is not particularly worried that the company is threatened with bankruptcy, but he says that they are now working without margins, and that they have no opportunity to make any investments.
According to the butcher, a lack of investment can have consequences for preserving safe workplaces, as there is often a question of necessary updates.
– It is the authorities who are in power who have completely gone silent, nothing is going to happen, says Eide.
– They must only evaluate and evaluate. Action is needed here and immediately. This is not healthy business at all.
Had to raise prices
The butcher can say that he has had to come up with an extraordinary price adjustment due to the high operating costs.
This is not without problems, as the butchery operates on a national scale, meaning that the products compete with products all over Norway.
– After all, it is the consumer who has to choose. It is clear that if it becomes more and more expensive, we will simply be voted out, he says.
– In my world, I cannot understand that electricity in Norway cannot be an equaliser, regardless of who delivers and who does not deliver.
– Do you think there is a risk that companies could go bankrupt?
– It will be inevitable if nothing is done, and for some it may already be too late.
So had to close
The newspaper Hadeland wrote earlier this week about Heidi Højfeldt, who now sees herself having to close her cafe in Gran due to the increased costs.
– In the media, we see that it can get even tougher and more difficult on the electricity market, and we didn’t have much to go on after the pandemic, she says to VG.
There is much at Kaffehjørnet that requires electricity. Fryers, griddles, ice trays and refrigerators. Electricity bills have been high since December, says Højfeldt.
This was also combined with increased raw material prices.
– Gran is a small place, so we couldn’t raise the prices accordingly, because then people wouldn’t have come.
Højfeldt, who has run Kaffehjørnet since 2018, tells of many regular customers.
– In such a small place, you are on a first name basis with many of the customers. We often knew what people wanted when they arrived.
–Triple bill
This summer, the cafe’s electricity bill has been at least three times as high as a normal month, says Højfeldt.
– We can’t switch off the electricity in the evening either, when it comes to fridges and freezers.
– I became the big ugly wolf who walked around and pushed that we have to think about finances all the time, she says.
Have to go on the job market
The cafe had eight employees in total, four of whom worked in the cafe on a daily basis.
There are four people who now have to enter the job market – Højfeldt included.
– Up here in Hadeland, it is not so easy to get a job in our industry. It is tough for several people I have spoken to.
She understands the pressure on the electricity grid, and that prices vary in different parts of the country. However, what she thinks is unfair is that the authorities have not introduced electricity support for small businesses.
– Now it is too late for us, but I hope that the authorities will step in, says Højfeldt.
– It’s sad that it’s the electricity that takes you when you’ve struggled through corona.
Follows the situation closely
The government is following the extraordinary situation closely, writes Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) in a comment to VG.
He says that they are prepared to support the business world if the conditions warrant it.
– I fully understand that it is challenging for several industries that experience high electricity prices, says Vestre.
He points out that predictability is important for industries that use a lot of electricity and that the government is working to improve fixed price agreements.
– At the same time, we must take into account the overall situation in the Norwegian economy. Safe financial management is the most important thing we do, says Vestre.
– If we increase spending, we may risk a faster rise in interest rates, which in turn will affect business and households across the country.
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