CEO of Statnett Sparks Debate on Norwegian Electricity Prices – Interview Highlights

CEO Hilde Tonne of Statnett added the broadside to Nettavisen’s podcast Stavrum & Eikeland. She bluntly stated that electricity prices in Norway are low and that Norwegians are too well used to low energy prices.

– We are a country where we expect energy to be free, and then it is no longer the case. It is not hugely expensive in Norway for people. It is also not expensive for the industry, Tonne said in the podcast.

She continued:

– It is a popular demand to develop more energy in other countries, while in Norway it is a popular demand not to develop wind power because the electricity is cheap. So I hope that the scheme is phased out so that we get an understanding of what energy really costs.

According to the tax lists, Statnett Hilde Tonne earned almost NOK 5.9 million in 2022. She also has a fortune of NOK 4.5 million.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE: The Statnett boss gives a clear message about Norwegian electricity prices

Depends on the power support

Someone who really knows what energy costs is Anette Olsen. She struggles to make ends meet. Even if the power support doesn’t amount to much, everything helps a little.

– If I hadn’t had power support, I would have been even more in the red than I already am. The support we get now is not great, but it helps somewhat, Olsen tells Nettavisen.

Olsen lives in a 75 square meter apartment in Tønsberg. She has an oven and heating cables on it. Apart from this, there is minimal of other things.

– Nevertheless, the electricity bill is over NOK 3,000. The fact that everything else has become more expensive doesn’t help either, Olsen tells Nettavisen.

– Shouldn’t say anything

In January, when the electricity price was frighteningly high on some days, it was a matter of wrapping yourself in blankets and duvets.

Olsen also reacts strongly to the fact that a person with a salary of almost 6 million says that ordinary people do not need electricity support.

– No one with more than a million in annual salary should have said anything about what us ordinary people should get or not, says Olsen to Nettavisen.

Several Nettavisen have spoken to say it would have been tough if they had not received electricity support.

The poor house: – Can’t afford food and electricity

At Fattighuset in Oslo, people are constantly arriving who need help paying bills and buying food. Chairman Lasse Storvik of Fattighuset is well aware that people turn off the electricity to keep warm.

– People don’t have money for food because they go to great lengths to pay bills, says Storvik.

– It’s a lot at once. Electricity and food prices and the rent have become more expensive. People save and save.

Storvik says that the board of Fattighuset is against cutting the electricity subsidy.

– We are in favor of an upper limit, but electricity support should be given at 70 øre per kWh.

Storvik believes that strengthening Enova support could also be a good measure. Enova already provides support for various measures such as solar cells and geothermal heat pumps, which are very expensive.

– If you had given support to invest in measures that result in lower electricity bills, you would save in the long term, says Storvik.

READ ALSO: Paying into Enova: Not getting back the money you pay in

We pay for this

Electricity prices today are far from low – and significantly higher than they were before the last electricity cables to Great Britain and Germany were put into operation in 2021 and 2022.

From 1 January this year, the state pays 90 per cent of the electricity price above 73 øre (excluding VAT). This means that you only get electricity support when you pay 91.25 øre (73 øre + VAT) per kilowatt hour.

If the electricity costs 118 øre, as it does at certain hours in Eastern Norway this week, the electricity will cost people here 75.1 øre + VAT: 93.88 per kWh.

That is several times as much as what Norwegians paid before the power cables were opened. In 2020, electricity cost an average of 20.7 øre without VAT – or 25.88 with VAT, according to Statistics Norway. In addition, internet rent and electricity tax are included. Prices of around 35 øre per kWh have nevertheless been the norm in the years before 2022.

In 2023, the electricity cost for comparison 86 øre per kWh – before the power support. The state estimates that approximately NOK 9.75 billion will be paid out in electricity subsidies in 2024.

– Disconnected from reality

The CEO’s plan has caused parliamentary representatives from several wings to turn on all the plugs.

– She appears completely disconnected from reality in the way she refers to electricity support and Norwegian electricity prices. I can remind the Statnett boss that historic electricity prices have been around 30 øre per kWh, and today you pay 2.5 times more – so electricity is already expensive, said parliamentary politician Marius Nilsen (Frp) to Nettavisen.

And Nilsen’s colleague in the energy and environment committee, Sofie Marhaug, in Rødt is also not gracious in an article in Nettavisen.

“What does Tonne think will happen to the poorest if the electricity subsidy is reduced? Does she want even more people on social assistance? How privileged can one be?”, writes Marhaug.

2024-02-26 15:36:25


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