Power, Power prices | Promised less price differences on electricity – tonight they are extremely high

Last month, Statnett came out and promised that “all means we have available and which are appropriate” will be used to prevent the extremely large price differences for electricity within southern Norway.

Read also: Statnett promises special measures to avoid last year’s extreme prices

It was not just a question of measures that should work in time:

– We are now in the process of implementing a number of measures which, in the short term, will help ensure the most efficient use of the network we have today, said Peer Olav Østli, Executive Vice President for System Operations at Statnett.

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Almost double the price

But on Monday, the stage is again set for extremely large price differences. The prices within Southern Norway differ between groups at dinnertime, and the biggest price difference is between 8pm and 9pm: Then Southwestern Norway has to pay NOK 1.95 per kWh – almost twice as much as Eastern and Western Norway.

The price differences will remain until Tuesday morning, when they will again be relatively similar. In return, get then all Southern Norway electricity prices of 1.68 øre. Prices fall in the middle of the day, with another price jump coming again in the evening.

As usual, the electricity subsidy takes most of the peak for homes, while businesses and cottage owners must pay in full.

The reason for the high prices originates almost as usual from Germany. Little wind and clouds create low production of renewable electricity, and the country has net imports on all its foreign cables.

According to the industry website Europower, the price differences have never come earlier than now.

– The question now is whether this is a new type of price picture, and what it might mean for how manufacturers must plan going forward, they write.

Despite the fact that Northern Norway currently has the lowest water reservoir filling ever, they still have prices that are significantly lower than Southern Norway.

The quick measures are not enough

Peer Olav Østlien in Statnett admits that the measures they are now initially taking will not be sufficient to overcome all the price differences:

– At certain hours on Monday, we see that there is a significant difference in the prices in southern Norway, where the prices in NO2 follow the high European prices in the evening. Statnett has done thorough work to identify measures that can provide higher transmission capacity in the network in southern Norway. These are measures which, in the short term, will increase transmission capacity in the network in southern Norway and thus contribute to more equal average prices in the future, compared to what they would otherwise be, says Østlie to Nettavisen.

Part of the reason why the price differences are greater in summer than in winter is something as banal as the power cables expanding when they get hot. Therefore, the capacity must be limited in the summer so that they do not stay for long.

– As the system manager, we use all means available to us that are appropriate to ensure as good transmission capacity in the network as possible. At the same time, it is the case that even when the measures we are now implementing are in place, there will be restrictions in the network which lead to situations with price differences between the price areas in southern Norway. In the long term, we expect that the market development in Norway and Europe, in combination with grid reinforcements, will also contribute to more equal prices, both internally in Norway and in Europe.

Also read: Power consumption sky high this winter