Power | NVE was taken to bed by the energy crisis

Norway has ended up in a very unfortunate situation: We have built more and more foreign connections for electricity, both to be able to make money on exports – but also to be able to import in periods where we have so-called dry years where we do not have enough own production.

The problem that has arisen this year is when this dry year has come which has given historically little water in the reservoirs, the countries around us have also had problems producing enough electricity. This is a situation that has not been part of NVE’s risk assessments:

– The energy crisis we are experiencing in Europe now has not been considered in our analyzes and sensitivities of the effect the Norwegian power system has on new international connections, and we have not considered it as a probable permanent situation.

This is what NVE’s acting director of the regulatory authority, Tore Langset, tells Nettavisen.

Has turned on the export brakes

The situation has also come as a surprise to power producers, and Statnett chose almost three weeks ago to raise the danger level to a yellow level in large parts of southern Norway. This is interpreted by the power producers as a message to put on the brakes, even though it is the power companies themselves who decide how much to produce.

And the brakes have really been put on: Last week, power exports fell by 45 percent, and this week, hydropower producers seem to be holding back sharply.

– With lower reservoir filling, the water in the reservoirs will have greater and greater value, and the power producers will demand a higher price for being willing to use the water. This in turn could lead to high (re) Norwegian power prices and a greater degree of imports on our international connections, Tangset says.

Also read: Now you get a small breather from the extreme prices of electricity – but southern Norway continues to be expensive

At the same time, new statistics from NVE now show that the water level in Norwegian power reservoirs increases for the third week in a row: It increases from 65.5 to 66.5 per cent of the maximum degree of filling.

This is still very low compared to the normal of 82.9 percent, but at the same time a small notch up

Big differences within Norway

Even though the situation in Norway is improving overall, there are still large differences between the regions, NVE’s latest power report shows.

In northern Norway, there is currently a little more water in the reservoirs than normal, while in western Norway there is historically little water. Although the water level rose slightly last week, is

Power consumption increases sharply

There is little indication that Norwegians are turning their lives upside down due to the high electricity prices: According to NVE, electricity consumption increased last week:

– In week 41, consumption in Norway increased by 11 percent. The increase is related to colder weather and higher heating consumption. A similar level of consumption has not been in Norway since last spring, NVE writes.

A total of 2.53 TWh was used, an increase from 2.29 TWh from the previous week.

Also read: New power cable to England accounts for 40 percent of power exports – capacity will soon be doubled

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