This will be the new network income – E24

In February, NVE proposed that people should pay more grid rent based on the amount of electricity they use when their consumption is highest.

For example, it can be compared to increasing the prices of driving a car during peak hours, in the hope of distributing more traffic throughout the day. The proposal would increase the electricity bill for some, but not more than 10 percent.

However, the proposal met with opposition, and now NVE Director Kjetil Lund has listened to the 131 players who have contributed their comments to the proposal.

– Many supported the idea that this is the right way to go. But many did not agree with the way we had done it. Many thought we took it too seriously and that it became too complicated, Lund tells E24.

– What we are now presenting to the Ministry of Oil and Energy continues to be a proposal that places more emphasis on how much electricity is used in the sling than on how many kilowatt hours are used. But it is more moderate than the original proposal, says Lund.

Eliminate the complicated ‘effect link’

Your electricity bill consists of three parts: energy price, taxes, and network rent. NVE’s proposal only applies to the last part.

In its adjusted proposal, NVE will keep the current system where the grid rent is divided into a fixed link and an energy link, but discards the idea of ​​introducing a third link (the “electrical link”).

According to the plan, this link should be based on the number of watts you use at the same time when your consumption is highest.

– Now we quit. This is complicated enough as it is, so now there will be two links in the network rent, Lund says.

The new proposal means that many network companies have to increase the fixed price they pay (the “fixed link”). However, this link will be based more than before on the maximum number of watts consumed by clients.

The way the network companies do this, they can choose for themselves.

If the network company relies, for example, on the size of the main fuse, it will probably provide a lower network rent for people with small apartments and a higher network rent for those with a large villa.

At the same time, many power grid companies have to cut the part of grid rent that is based on customers’ electricity consumption (the “energy link”). How much they want to cut will vary between companies, but the energy link cannot represent more than half of the grid income.

I have criticism

In the consultation round, NVE’s consultation note was particularly criticized because the solutions were too complicated and because the proposal could be unfortunate for some. In addition, many stakeholders believed that the proposal would make installing solar cells or investing in energy savings less attractive.

Also with NVE’s adjusted proposal, solar cells will be somewhat less attractive than before, but NVE says they have listened to the opinions of the players.

– The current system provides indirect or hidden support for solar energy, because by installing solar energy, you save a lot on rent from the grid. You will still want to be connected to the grid and use it on cold days when the sun is not shining or on hot days when it produces more than you need. Today, they can use solar cells to take advantage of the grid without having to get fully involved and share the bill, Lund says.

– This indirect support goes down a bit with this proposal, but it is still there. We believe that we have done everything possible to meet with the advisory bodies, he says.

Take no more money

The proposal will not increase the total network rent paid by Norwegian network customers. Network companies will continue to receive around NOK 27 billion per year. It’s more about how the invoice should be distributed as reasonably as possible among customers.

NVE’s goal is for the grid rental to be based as much as possible on what actually costs money to maintain and operate the electricity grid. The actual shipping of electricity is quite cheap, while the money goes to size the network for the hours when consumption is highest.

– The reason we propose to change the network income is that people’s network income should not be higher than necessary. Most people pay 5,000 to 15,000 kronor of network rent a year. We want to give people a reason to use our common electrical grid as efficiently as possible, says Lund.

– We will use more electricity at the same time during peak periods. This must happen to be successful with electrification and achieve Norway’s climate goals. We can build on this, but then people have to collectively pay the network rent more, and that also implies an invasion of nature. So we want to use the web smarter, he says.

Change the rules for electric car chargers

It has also listened to the electric car industry and commercial players that are expanding charging stations. Many of them pay the network rent based on the amount of electricity they consume at the same time (the so-called “energy tariff”). This can make the network rent excessively high at charging stations, which are used relatively infrequently.

NVE now proposes that businesses that consume less than 100,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year should receive rent from the grid in the same way as households. Then the charging stations will come out better. Many other smaller electricity customers, such as schools and small stores, will also be covered by this rule.

– The electric car industry has been concerned that fast charging stations for electric cars are characterized as a separate group, especially those that are rarely used. They were unfortunate in our first proposal, and now we are proposing that charging stations and businesses that use less than 100,000 kilowatt hours per year be treated on an equal footing with households, Lund says.

– It’s a gentler regimen today. We believe this proposal makes good arrangements for expanding the charging infrastructure in the districts. This is also in line with what the industry itself has proposed, he says.

The proposal is also open for models where the grid rental varies depending on when electricity is used, something that Glitre Energi Nett has previously received a waiver from NVE to test. Glitre offers customers a discount on network rental at night during the winter, to take the burden off the busiest times.

Therefore, changes are needed

Norway is facing a demanding restructuring, where the country will replace the use of fossil energy with electricity. But it creates headaches for those who will operate the electrical grid.

An electric car, for example, can be charged to around 7,000 watts with a standard charger, which is equivalent to seven standard panel heaters at full power.

When more and more transport sectors, equipment parks and industries draw a large amount of electricity from the grid at the same time, spikes in electricity consumption increase.

It requires more capacity in the power grid, so network companies have to pay billions of crowns to build more power lines and transformer stations, and that money is paid through network rent.

You’ll use the web smarter

NVE believes that part of this development can be avoided if it encourages people to use the network more intelligently, by changing the income of the network.

Consumption can then be spread out throughout the day, reducing consumption peaks, so that grid companies get away with building fewer power lines. At Drammen alone, smart use of the grid can help avoid multi-billion dollar investments, Glitre Energi Nett told E24 earlier this year.

An average household customer uses around 16,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year and pays just over 5,000 crowns in network rent, according to NVE.