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On the table of the Minister of Energy Tina Brus (H) there is a controversial proposal of new rates for the rental of the network. Homeowners now fear that they may receive an increase in their electricity bill and that the electricity savings will not be worth it.
The Minister of Oil and Energy, Tina Bru, will decide the dispute over the network’s rates. Photo: Olav Olsen
Simply put, the conflict is this: Norway will be electrified to reduce climate emissions. It requires the development of the electrical network, but also a more efficient use of the network. Therefore, the Norwegian Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE) has made a new rate proposal for the rental of the network.
The objective of the proposal is to transfer the use of electricity by people to times of the day when consumption is low. An example is that the charging of electric cars is moved to night time. Therefore, the spikes in power consumption will even out.
To achieve this, NVE will open up to network companies to increase network rent at times when the network is heavily loaded.
“Half of Norway” have to pay more?
The Norwegian Housing Association (NBBL) believes that NVE has not taken into account what this could mean for around 900,000 apartment homes.
The National Homeowners Association also has objections.
They believe that the new scheme makes an already complicated scheme difficult.
Your electricity bill is roughly divided into three.
- One third is power. That price varies.
- One third is the income from the network. It is paid to the network company and it is the price of the connection to the network. This means that you pay a certain network rent regardless of consumption.
- The last third of the electricity bill are taxes to the state.
The proposal increases the fixed part.
Executive Director Bård Folke Fredriksen of NBBL. He believes that the new grid fees may make investing in solar cells unprofitable. Photo: Ketil Blom Haugstulen
Lack of knowledge
– NVE lacks documentation that the reorganization has the desired effect.
This is the claim of the CEO of NBBL, Bård Folke Fredriksen.
He believes that NVE has not considered carefully enough that a significantly higher flat rate will increase the grid rent for the housing association that produces its own clean energy. When the fixed part of the grid rent increases at the expense of the part that varies according to electricity consumption, saving electricity becomes less profitable.
– Thousands of Norwegian households have invested in energy efficiency measures such as solar cells and heat pumps. They will be able to keep a higher electricity bill than the current one. It’s a step backward to introduce a model that weakens incentives to save electricity, he says.
According to NBBL estimates, 1.1 million people in housing and condo associations are at risk of losing out on electricity savings with the new model.
Director of water courses and energy, Kjetil Lund. Photo: Stig Storheil
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NVE adjusts controversial proposal: this will be the new network rental.
Reject criticism
NVE director Kjetil Lund says his calculations show that ordinary homes turn out much like they do today with the new proposal.
Lund says that if Norway wants to achieve climate goals, it means more electrification.
– Increased electrification will put pressure on the capacity of the power grid. Therefore, we should use the network more efficiently, because otherwise we will have to unnecessarily build a lot of network. Network development increases costs for households and businesses and leads to an invasion of nature, he says.
Lund rejects that NVE’s proposal will avoid investments in electricity savings or renewable energy.
The electric car association is satisfied
There are also those who are in favor of the proposal.
– This is a milestone in making an electric car an option for everyone and a great victory for the Norwegian Association of Electric Cars. The proposal makes it more cost-effective to expand fast charging for electric cars in low-usage and uneven areas, Secretary General Christina Bu told NTB in September.
Must be ready for summer
The new grid rates are expected to come into effect in the summer of 2021. The Minister of Oil and Energy, Tina Bru (H), has the matter on her desk.
The Ministry’s information department writes in an email that it is too early to say when it will be decided. But the decision will be made “after a thorough review of NVE’s proposals and the information received from the consultation.”
