Extreme electricity bills this winter, Labor announces new austerity measures on electricity prices. The new government must look at measures that can protect people from extreme electricity bills this winter. This is announced by Espen Barth Eide, Labor Party's leading climate and energy politician.
On Thursday, the price of electricity in southern Norway is NOK 1,23 per kilowatt hour without subsidies or network rent, according to the Nord Pool power exchange. This is by far the highest average price of the year. Today's price level could mean two thousand crowns higher bills for electricity every month until winter, compared to last year's winter.
– We are aware of the problem and what very high electricity prices can lead to. We are in the process of looking at this, but I cannot say right now what preventive measures will be put in place, he says Espen Barth Eide on Thursday afternoon.
Extreme electricity bills this winter. Negotiations at party levels
Labor leader Jonas Gahr Støre is now talking separately with the Center Party and the Socialist Left Party. The aim is to start negotiations at government level as early as next week. Until a new government is formed, neither Eide nor other politicians can now provide Norwegian households with any certainty what mitigation measures will come.
Espen Barth Eide says prices are now at their peak as there are several negative factors at play. There is little water in many Norwegian reservoirs. Gas and coal prices are high and there is little wind in Europe. When all of this accumulates over time, prices go up. Electricity prices in Europe are even higher, but there is no consolation for Norwegian households, he explains.
Reduced electricity tax
Today, the leading parties have completely different answers to what immediate measures need to be taken:
- We will reduce the electricity tax immediately. The first thing we need to do is remove the five øre per kilowatt-hour increase. The increase was introduced by the Conservatives and the Liberal Party in 2013. My goal is to get rid of all taxes this fall, said Center Party leader Trygve Slagsvold two days before this year's elections.
- We are heading towards the declaration of an energy crisis and empty tanks, and at the same time we export half TWh a week - says energy policy spokesman Ole André Myhrvold from the Center Party. The most important thing for us to be able to afford a constant energy supply is to abolish the tax. I will not talk about who will negotiate with whom, but we have significantly lowered the tax in our alternative budget, continues Myhrvold.
Energy policy spokesman for the Socialist Left Party, Lars Haltbrekken, is skeptical of the Center Party's plans. He believes that this will be negative and will lead to higher energy prices. Thus, there will be no relief or help for those who have a poor economy. Overall reduction is not necessarily good. We must implement measures to help those with a poor economy. And not to spend unnecessary funds on those who have good funds - he says.
Socialist Left Party leader Audun Lysbakken also proposed a new compensation pot electricity for 90 people receiving housing benefits in Norway.
Skeptical about tax cuts
Espen Barth Eide informs about the proposals of the other parties:
- I am skeptical about the abolition of the entire electricity tax. The owners of the largest villas will benefit most from this. But you can imagine the threshold where the electricity tax automatically drops when the electricity price goes above a certain level. Otherwise, we know that housing benefit support is well targeted, says the representative of the Labor Party, which was re-elected to Parliament on Monday.
At the moment, several parliamentary representatives of the Labor Party are preparing their positions in advance of possible government negotiations with other parties. The price of electricity could be higher before it falls again, politicians warn.
- Electricity production in Norway has to increase, but I realize that this is no consolation for those who now have higher electricity bills. We also need to use electricity more wisely. For example, charge your electric car at night and perhaps heat your home at night. So that you can use less electricity during the day when it's most expensive, says Espen Barth Eide.
Read our next article: High Energy Prices. How to reduce bills ...
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