The Norwegian Ministry of Energy will this week formulate a plan for possibly limiting the export of electricity. That is what energy minister Terje Aasland said in a letter to Norwegian party leaders.
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Part of the Norwegian plan is to regulate how much energy can be exported if the water levels in the water reservoirs become too low. Norway, one of Europe’s largest power exporters, had previously announced it would consider limiting power exports. Due to less supply of gas from Russia, there is a lot of international demand for electricity from Norwegian hydroelectric power stations.
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Almost all electricity in Norway is generated by hydropower. Normally the Norwegians generate much more electricity than they use themselves. But due to rising prices and low water levels in the water reservoirs, there have been calls for months to limit power exports via submarine cables. According to the Norwegian water and energy regulator NVE, the chance of having to ration electricity in winter is low and there is currently more water in the reservoirs than previously predicted.
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Germany and the United Kingdom also depend on electricity from Norway. Norway, although not a member of the European Union, is part of the European energy market. The rules for this stipulate that countries may not limit their energy supply to neighboring countries for a longer period of time. This is only allowed in the event of an emergency.
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Aid measure
Energy Minister Aasland and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store spoke with party leaders on Monday about the situation in the energy market. The Norwegian cabinet may have to come back from recess to discuss the situation. According to Aasland, a support measure for consumers and farmers will be extended from September due to the high energy prices.
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If the power export is limited, this can also have consequences for the supply of power to the Netherlands, one of the consumers of electricity from the Scandinavian country. Belgium is not a direct importer of electricity from Norway.
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Electricity prices in Germany and France – the reference countries for Europe – reached new records on Monday. Electricity prices in Europe have been going through the roof for almost a year, spurred on by the rising gas price in particular, but also partly by the many breakdowns in French nuclear power plants and recently the heat that causes more demand for cooling.
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