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Norwegian energy agency warns high prices could last until next winter

The Local (news@thelocal.com)
The Local ([email protected])
Norwegian energy agency warns high prices could last until next winter
Lighting and heating homes in Norway could remain costly throughout 2022. Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash "

High energy prices which are driving up living costs in Norwegian homes could persist through next winter, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) warned on Monday. The government should be prepared to extend economic relief, the agency said.

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High energy prices in Norway are likely to continue through the end of this year, NVE director for energy and concessions Inga Nordberg said on Monday in an interview with broadcaster NRK.

“What we are seeing is that you should be prepared for high prices at a much higher level than we are used to. Not just this winter but also in the summer and possibly next winter,” Nordberg said.

Although energy prices normally fall in spring and are also expected to do so in 2022, the most likely scenario is that they will remain high throughout the year, the department director said.

Households should be prepared for “close to winter prices in the summer”, she said.

The prognosis for high energy prices in the medium term remains uncertain, however. It is primarily affected by two factors in Norway: gas prices and the level of rain and snowfall.

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The current security situation in Ukraine makes the former factor uncertain, while snow levels in the mountains are currently low although that “can change quickly”, Nordberg said.

The government last month said it would further increase a subsidy for energy bills, updating a package brought in December which saw the state pick up 55 percent of household bills when the spot price, the cost of raw energy firms pay, rises above 70 øre per kilowatt hour.

The opposition and critics subsequently said that the scheme wasn’t enough before the government said it would cover 80 percent of electricity bills, subject to a vote in parliament.

The scheme, which began in December 2021 and will run until March of this year.

Asked whether the government should consider extending it, Nordberg told NRK “I think it is natural that is one of the things we should look at in future”.

READ ALSO: What times of day should you avoid using electricity in Norway?

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