Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
Groceries to become more expensive, the government criticises electricity companies and other news from Norway on Tuesday.
Norway's grocery industry expects another price spike in February
The grocery industry in Norway expects a price increase from February 1st. Furthermore, the industry expects prices to continue going up moving forward.
Before Christmas, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) announced that the prices would go up by 10 percent. The newspaper Klassekampen also reported similar projections.
"There are many indications that prices will be high for quite a long time to come," executive vice president for communications in Norgesgruppen (the largest grocery company in Norway), Stein Rømmerud, told the newspaper.
A report from the National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO) that came out this autumn shows that one in twelve households state that they struggle to find meals, have to get help from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) or get food handed out from food stations - a doubling within a year, the news bureau NTB reports.
At the same time, figures from Statistics Norway show that food prices from November 2021 to November 2022 increased by as much as 12.7 percent.
Prime Minister Støre issues warning to electricity companies
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre warned that the government is ready to introduce a maximum limit for surcharges and fees if the electricity companies do not become better at informing customers about contract terms.
The electricity companies in Norway had to comply with stricter rules from November 1st, 2022. The main goal of the new rules was to improve access to information for electricity customers, and a longer notice period for changing contract conditions was also introduced.
But many companies have not yet adjusted to the new rules, according to Støre.
"We need to have everyone on board if we are to succeed in having good and transparent offers for the customer," Støre told the news bureau NTB.
He made it clear that the government is getting impatient. He warned that further regulatory tightening might become relevant if there are no improvements.
NAV fails to implement IT project, increasing waiting times in appeal cases
An unsuccessfully implemented IT project at the NAV – which has now been delayed for six years -cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of kroner and has increased the waiting time in appeal cases.
According to the newspaper Klassekampen, the plan was for the IT project to automate large parts of the case management process. The NAV received 872 million kroner for the project, money that has now been used up without the waiting time decreasing.
The waiting time to process appeals about sick pay is now 52 weeks. In principle, it should take at most twelve weeks to get a response in such cases.
The IT project, which was supposed to streamline processing and replace the old system, should have been completed on October 1st, 2020. But now, the NAV plans to have it ready by the beginning of 2027.
"Unfortunately, the development has taken longer than we expected. Unfortunately, this has resulted in too long processing times for appeals," NAV chief Hans Christian Holte wrote in an email to the newspaper.
Follobanen rail line controversy
Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård has summoned the management of Bane Nor, the Norwegian Railway Directorate and the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate to a meeting to discuss the situation related to the closure of the Follobanen rail line.
At the meeting, Nygård will be updated on the status of the work to correct and find the cause of the errors that have led to the line's closure.
The 37 billion kroner project was officially opened on December 12th but had to close eight days later.
According to the newspaper Aftenposten, there appears to have been a construction error that's left the line's electrical system unable to service the full-speed operation of the trains running on it.
No one knows when the trains will be able to run on the Follobanen line again, but it will not happen before February.
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Norway's grocery industry expects another price spike in February
The grocery industry in Norway expects a price increase from February 1st. Furthermore, the industry expects prices to continue going up moving forward.
Before Christmas, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) announced that the prices would go up by 10 percent. The newspaper Klassekampen also reported similar projections.
"There are many indications that prices will be high for quite a long time to come," executive vice president for communications in Norgesgruppen (the largest grocery company in Norway), Stein Rømmerud, told the newspaper.
A report from the National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO) that came out this autumn shows that one in twelve households state that they struggle to find meals, have to get help from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) or get food handed out from food stations - a doubling within a year, the news bureau NTB reports.
At the same time, figures from Statistics Norway show that food prices from November 2021 to November 2022 increased by as much as 12.7 percent.
Prime Minister Støre issues warning to electricity companies
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre warned that the government is ready to introduce a maximum limit for surcharges and fees if the electricity companies do not become better at informing customers about contract terms.
The electricity companies in Norway had to comply with stricter rules from November 1st, 2022. The main goal of the new rules was to improve access to information for electricity customers, and a longer notice period for changing contract conditions was also introduced.
But many companies have not yet adjusted to the new rules, according to Støre.
"We need to have everyone on board if we are to succeed in having good and transparent offers for the customer," Støre told the news bureau NTB.
He made it clear that the government is getting impatient. He warned that further regulatory tightening might become relevant if there are no improvements.
NAV fails to implement IT project, increasing waiting times in appeal cases
An unsuccessfully implemented IT project at the NAV – which has now been delayed for six years -cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of kroner and has increased the waiting time in appeal cases.
According to the newspaper Klassekampen, the plan was for the IT project to automate large parts of the case management process. The NAV received 872 million kroner for the project, money that has now been used up without the waiting time decreasing.
The waiting time to process appeals about sick pay is now 52 weeks. In principle, it should take at most twelve weeks to get a response in such cases.
The IT project, which was supposed to streamline processing and replace the old system, should have been completed on October 1st, 2020. But now, the NAV plans to have it ready by the beginning of 2027.
"Unfortunately, the development has taken longer than we expected. Unfortunately, this has resulted in too long processing times for appeals," NAV chief Hans Christian Holte wrote in an email to the newspaper.
Follobanen rail line controversy
Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård has summoned the management of Bane Nor, the Norwegian Railway Directorate and the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate to a meeting to discuss the situation related to the closure of the Follobanen rail line.
At the meeting, Nygård will be updated on the status of the work to correct and find the cause of the errors that have led to the line's closure.
The 37 billion kroner project was officially opened on December 12th but had to close eight days later.
According to the newspaper Aftenposten, there appears to have been a construction error that's left the line's electrical system unable to service the full-speed operation of the trains running on it.
No one knows when the trains will be able to run on the Follobanen line again, but it will not happen before February.
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