Energy volte-face: Norway wants to limit energy exports to Europe. Government considers disconnection of the energy connection with Denmark after the end of the contract in 2026. The more radical opposition also demands the renegotiation of energy connections with Great Britain and Germany.
Electricity prices up: The culprit for this is the so-called Dunkelflaute, i.e. the period when there is no light and no wind, i.e. a period in which there is no great opportunity to generate energy from wind and sun. Germany has bet heavily on it, that's why prices energy there is now record high. On Thursday (December 12) between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m Germany had to pay EUR 936 per megawatt hour of electricityi.e. over 4 thousand zloty. The Danes paid the same amount. Slightly less, but just as much, the Dutch (873 euros) and Austrians (850 euros).
Bills in Norway shot up: Countries affected by Dunkelflaute want to compensate with supplies from other countries. For example, from Norway, which has a large hydropower production. However, in this way they influence prices in Norway itself. Prices in the southern part of the country reached a record high of 13.16 Norwegian kroner ($1.18) per kilowatt hour this week. That's as much as twenty times more than last week and the most since 2009.
Anger at the Germans: Price gouging on the local market has made Norwegians reconsider cutting ourselves off from Europe. One of the EU ambassadors in Oslo believes that this is a “defining moment in relations” and such a move “will not be well received.” Meanwhile, Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland says it's an “absolutely shitty situation.” Bitterness is also coming from Sweden. The local deputy prime minister and energy minister, Ebba Busch, said that she is “angry at Germany”. In Sweden, energy prices are also currently at record highs because electricity had to be exported to Germany. Therefore, Busch blames Germany for, among others, closing nuclear power plants and limiting its energy capabilities.
Unequal energy prices: Norwegians and Swedes are even less interested in exporting their energy because they have their own internal problems. Both Sweden and Norway have weak national electricity transmission networks, which means that electricity is often much cheaper in the north, where it is produced, than in the south, where it is most consumed. For example, on Wednesday in the southern city of Gothenburg consumers paid 190 times more for electricity on Wednesday than those in the northern city of Lulea.
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Sources: IAR, Financial Times, energetics24.com, expressen.se, Janusz Piechociński [X].