Full reservoirs in the mountains of Norway were expected to provide an abundant supply of hydroelectric power this winter, and keep household electricity bills low. Higher taxes on electricity, however, mean most Norwegians are seeing a rise in their monthly bills.
News bureau NTB reports that higher consumption tax is being tacked on to the so-called nettleie portion of electricity bills, which covers the cost of actually stringing power into a home or other power customer. The rate per kilowatt hour for providing electricity is rising to NOK 51.30 from NOK 48.30 last year including all taxes.
That’s expected to add around NOK 600 per year to the average household that consumes 20,000 kilowatt hours per year. Of that, NOK 40 will go to the power supplier, while NOK 560 is blamed on higher consumption tax on electric power.
Electricity prices themselves, meanwhile, rose by 0.6 percent last month, adding to the state statistic bureau’s latest calculation of Norway’s consumer price index. It was the largest January increase since 2003, reported SSB (Statistics Norway).
“The main reason is a considerable increase in power prices,” said Eric Bruce, chief economist at Nordea Markets. “The price of electricity including nettleie rose 20 percent last month.” The consumer price index itself rose by 3 percent, but Bruce said that since it was because of the winter electricity bills, the rise may be temporary and not significantly boost inflation.
newsinenglish.no staff
