A new grid rental model and electricity support are intended to alleviate the skyrocketing electricity prices throughout the winter. Ellen Krohn Aasgård at Aneo believes simplicity is often best, even when it comes to saving tips for the house and home.
- When it comes to saving electricity, it's the “boring” tips that help the most. Lower the indoor temperature by a few degrees, turn off lights in rooms you aren't using, take shorter showers, lower the temperature on the water heater if you can, fill up the dishwasher and washer before starting them, and avoid using the dryer, Krohn Aasgård lists.
- Of course, this should not come at the expense of quality of life and health, and that's precisely what the electricity support scheme is for, which I hope will be an important contribution for many throughout the winter, she adds.
Electricity Support and New Network Tariff Model
On Thursday, January 15, Krohn Aasgård was a breakfast guest on NRK P1+, where the topic was high electricity prices and advice for consumers on reducing their electricity bills this winter.
- The power price is set by supply and demand in the market, and in addition, there's the network tariff, fees, and now also electricity support that is deducted. To avoid too high a bill, one should try to distribute their consumption more evenly throughout the day. This way, you can avoid price peaks and activate the reductions that can be achieved through the new network tariff, she says.
A New Type of Renewable Energy Company
Krohn Aasgård started at the renewable company Aneo on October 1st, where she is head of the optimization and analysis department in the energy management unit. She came from the position of research leader at SINTEF. TrønderEnergi has partnered with HitecVision to establish a completely new type of renewable energy company. The company will have its headquarters in Trondheim and operate throughout the Nordic region. The 33-year-old, originally from Molde, was very keen to be part of this initiative.
- My most important task at Aneo is to ensure that power resources are used in the best possible way through smart planning, and that we develop the necessary competence and analytical tools to make good decisions in an ever-changing energy system, says Krohn Aasgård.
Cold Weather and Little Wind
In December, electricity prices have been high across the country, and the northern price areas, Central Norway and the northern counties, have experienced a very large increase in the spot price in recent weeks. The explanation is complex, according to Krohn Aasgård.
- The availability of power resources and consumption largely dictate the prices we see now. It's colder than normal, and many people are using a lot of electricity for heating homes. This increases demand, and therefore the price. In addition, there is little wind across large parts of Europe, and two out of six nuclear power plants in Sweden have been completely or partially out of operation. We are also waiting for the start-up of a nuclear power plant in Finland, which has already been delayed a few times this year.
Uncertain Power Situation in Europe
All this is on top of the war in Ukraine, which has caused imbalance and great uncertainty in the power situation in Europe throughout the year.
- Less access to power resources, largely because gas supplies from Russia to Europe have stopped, and a more weather-dependent power system and higher consumption push prices up when it's cold, she explains.
All power is bought and sold on the Nordpool electricity exchange. Sharing resources and risk in a market, over a larger geographical area, provides greater supply security for all parties, says Krohn Aasgård.
Different Roles in the Power Market
When the Energy Act was introduced in 1991, the power market was significantly liberalized, and there was a clear separation between network services and power sales.
- We must differentiate between the players that exist in the market. Power producers, such as Aneo, Statkraft, and others, are largely publicly owned, by the state or municipalities. And that's where much of the value ends up, which is again distributed to the general public through municipal service offerings and now also through electricity support.
Network operators, such as Tensio and Statnett, deliver power to consumers through the power grid – at cost price. A new model has now been introduced on how to pay network tariffs.
- The new network tariff model offers more opportunity to influence your own network costs than the old model did. The network tariff consists of an energy component and a fixed component, where the fixed component previously was a single fixed number regardless of consumption, but now it is divided into steps. So if you use little electricity at the same time, so you have low power peaks in your own consumption, you will land on a lower step, thereby paying less in network tariffs, explains Krohn Aasgård.
Finally, in the value chain come the electricity suppliers, which regular consumers must relate to via the electricity bill itself. There, you pay for the electricity you have used, that is, the number of kilowatt-hours. Many different electricity agreements are offered, so it may be worthwhile to check the agreement you have and what other agreements are available.
Electricity Support in December
Electricity support kicks in when the average electricity price in a month exceeds 70 øre per kilowatt-hour, which seems to be happening for the entire country now in December.
- The state covers 90 percent of the electricity price over 70 øre per kilowatt-hour, and then you get a lower electricity bill. The electricity support is automatically deducted from the network bill when it arrives.
Even if you receive support, it's very wise to consider your own consumption and explore what measures you can take for energy saving or efficiency.
- Get an overview of what consumes the most electricity, and try to flatten out the consumption as much as possible throughout the day. This way, you can save a lot, both on electricity prices and network tariffs, asserts Krohn Aasgård.
