LATEST: What times of day should you avoid using electricity in Norway?
OSLO/NORWAY, NOV 10: Energy price records in Norway were set once again on Monday, with prices expected to soar throughout the winter. But costs vary at different times of the day.
Energy power exchange Nordpool has said the price of
electricity in Norway on Monday was set to peak at 2.79 kroner per
kilowatt-hour, the highest hourly rate seen this year.
This figure is without accounting for grid rent and other
fees, meaning consumers will pay around 4 kroner per kilowatt-hour.
Power price analyst Tor Reier Lilleholt, from Volue Insight,
has told public broadcaster NRK that the peak price was probably a record for
the month.
“I do not think we have seen such prices in November
before,” he told NRK.
Unfortunately, for those already fretting over the size of
their electricity bills, record prices could become a weekly fixture this winter.
“I think there may be new records with every week that
comes,” Lilleholt said.
Prices will crescendo between 4pm and 7pm. The peak price
will apply to Oslo, Bergen and Kristiansand. For a number of reasons, prices in
the north don’t reach the same dizzy sights as the south.
Throughout the day, the price will fluctuate greatly,
averaging around 1.22 kroner per kilowatt-hour in total.
With surging prices threatening to cost users a fortune
throughout the winter, it’s helpful to know which times of day are most
expensive so you can save electricity when prices are peaking.
Earlier in the autumn, peak times for energy prices in
Norway were between 8am, and 9am, with prices topping out at around 2.20 kroner
per kilowatt-hour.
However, while prices will remain high in the morning hours,
they will actually peak in the late afternoon and early evening throughout the
winter.
“It is common for prices to be higher for a few hours in the
morning and afternoon due to higher consumption,” Stina Johansen, from
Nordpool, explained to NRK.
“The price is highest in the hours when it gets dark because
then all the lights are turned on. So there is an extra peak in consumption. In
addition, people are coming home and having dinner,” Lilleholt added.
The most expensive times to use electricity this winter will
be between 8-11am and 4-7pm. Prices typically bottom out later in the evening,
hitting their lowest price just before 11, where they are around a third of the
cost compared to the peak. This means you should consider putting on your home
appliances just before bed if they are quiet enough.
If we were to take a 10-minute shower during peak times as
an example, then a quick rinse would cost around 2 kroner between 5-6pm. Were
you to make this a daily habit at this price. It would cost 7,300 kroner per
year.
As the days get shorter, darker and colder in Norway, the
daily price peak is also expected to change to align with the sun going down.
In addition, as temperatures plummet into the minuses, the
increased consumption and demand puts more pressure on prices.
This will be exacerbated by the lower than usual supply level due to record energy exports to the continent, which is also in the midst of an energy price crisis and exceptionally low hydroelectric stocks caused by a dry summer and autumn.
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Courtesy thelocal.no
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