More than 11,000 people lost electricity in Engerdal and in the popular ski resort town of Trysil in eastern Norway on Sunday. The power failure also left ski lifts standing still. The power went out around noon, and was sorely felt by hotels and the ski resort at Trysil, which is full of tourists during […]
Electricity rates fall back
February 22, 2019
Warmer weather and more precipitation have helped bring down electricity rates in Norway, after an unusually expensive January. They hit their lowest level in three months this past week. “We’ve gone from a situation with cold, winter weather to milder, and not least wetter, weather forecasts,” John Brottesmo, a power analyst for Kinect Energy, told […]
Government won’t cap electricity rates
February 4, 2019
As Norwegians brace for more shockingly high electricity bills this month, they can’t expect much if any help from the government. Oil & Energy Minister Kjell-Børge Freiberg is rejecting calls to set a maximum level and thus cap rates before they go any higher. The calls are coming from thousands of Norwegians over social media, […]
Electricity rates hit record highs
January 23, 2019
Wildly changing weather patterns last year, and a lack of snow in the mountains, have sent electricity rates soaring. Norwegian consumers are getting some shocking bills this month, double what they were at this time last year. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported on Wednesday that electricity rates have never been so high in Norway, a […]
Power speculator’s losses cost others
September 14, 2018
Einar Aas, a media-shy man from the southern coastal town of Grimstad, ranked as having Norway’s highest income last year. He also paid more tax than any other person in Norway, but now he faces personal bankruptcy after losing badly on his investments in the power market. Newspapers Dagens Næringsliv (DN) and Fædrelandsvennen in Kristiansand […]
Drought blamed for high power rates
July 13, 2018
The lengthy spell of hot and dry weather in central and southern Norway has sent electricity rates soaring. New figures show they’re now 90 percent higher than they were when they bottomed out exactly three years ago. State statistics bureau SSB (Statistics Norway) cited high temperatures and rapid melting of last winter’s record amounts of […]
Electricity rates set to jump
June 5, 2018
Norway’s once-reasonable electricity rates look set to rise again, this time because of a surprising lack of water in mountain reservoirs that had been expected to generate hydro-electric power. A recent heat wave over Southern Norway prompted more snow and ice to evaporate instead of melting and filling dams. Summer usually brings lower electricity bills, […]
Sparks fly over the EU energy union
March 12, 2018
Debate over whether Norway should join the EU’s new energy union, and thus subject itself to EU market regulation, was reaching fever pitch this week. The issue has divided not only the Parliament but also the already-weakened Labour Party, as fears rise over the potential for much higher electricity rates that would hurt not only […]
Bitter cold boosts electricity rates
February 28, 2018
Norway has long enjoyed relatively reasonable electricity rates because of its vast reserves of hydroelectric power, but they hit their highest level in more than a year this month. Bitterly cold temperatures are to blame. “When cold weather sets in, demand rises for electricity,” noted Stina Johansen of the electricity exchange NordPool. She told news […]
Holiday lights help brighten the nights
December 25, 2017
PHOTO FEATURE: Stores closed and streets fell silent as Norway settled into its traditional three-day Christmas celebrations on julaften (Sunday this year). Massive arrays of holiday lights, however, will continue to brighten the darkness of mid-winter in Oslo and other cities, exactly 125 years after Norway’s capital got its first electric streetlamps. It wasn’t always […]
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