Norway's two ruling parties have pledged to campaign for the disconnection of the two interconnectors that link the country to Denmark. The smaller coalition party, the Centre Party, plans to review similar energy links with the UK and Europe, Euronews reported.
One reason is that electricity prices in the country are extremely high these days, something Energy Minister Terje Aasland described as outrageous.
With current high Norwegian prices, critics argue that Norway should only send electricity from its rich hydroelectric power (HPP) plants abroad after securing low prices at home, as was the case decades ago.
Much of Norway's electricity generation comes from hydropower, but about 10% of electricity is provided by wind power, mostly coming from the continent. Not long ago, wind was absent in Germany and the North Sea, and in Norway it was coupled with low temperatures.
So when electricity prices in the EU spike, as they have recently, this price shock spreads to Norway.
The price of electricity in the southernmost part of the country has risen to more than 13 kronor (1.12 euros) per kilowatt-hour in the most expensive hour, which includes the grid rent and fees. By comparison, the EU average for the first half of 2024 was €0.1867 per kWh.
Eastern Norway also receives high prices, while the western part of the country largely avoids the worst prices. In the north, electricity is still cheap due to the fact that it benefits most from hydropower.
According to Norwegian media, the price will decrease in the coming days, citing weather forecasts that show wind power production in Europe will increase over the weekend and prices will start to decrease from 20 December.
However, the currently elevated price was enough to provide a new spark to the debate about how much Norway wants to share its energy capacity.
High electricity prices have been a source of discontent in the country in recent years, and the issue of sharing its own power while having to pay a high price for electricity is likely to set the tone for the political debate ahead of next year's elections
The ruling Norwegian Labour Party will not renew the so-called "Danish cables", said Are Thomasgaard of the party's programme committee.
The ruling Norwegian Labour Party will not renew the so-called "Danish cables", said Are Thomasgaard from the party's programme committee.
"We can't go on like this. This has got out of hand. And we will take back that control," Thomasgard added.
The country's hydropower is an important source of electricity for the rest of Europe. Norway is also Western Europe's largest oil and gas producer.
Although Norway is not part of the EU, the country is a key partner of the bloc in single market initiatives, including the electricity interconnector.
The smaller ruling Centre Party is campaigning to renegotiate terms with the UK and Germany on energy exports to those countries. | BGNES
