In Norway, where electricity comes almost exclusively from hydro sources, the price per kWh is correlated with the level of rainfall: the more it rains or snows, the more the dam reservoirs fill up and the less expensive electricity is. However, the country was hit by Storm Hans on August 5 and also experienced heavy summer rains. As a result, this Monday, in the two largest cities in the country, Oslo and Bergen, the spot price per kWh, before taxes and network charges, fluctuated between 0 and -0.3 crowns.
A negative price that means that companies are paying consumers to sell their production. At first sight this does not make sense, but according to Europower, a specialized news site, companies prefer to continue producing when prices are “just a little bit” negative, rather than take measures to stop production.
In fact, companies in particular receive sums linked to green electricity certificates, a way of guaranteeing consumers a more or less significant amount of green electricity while generating an additional source of income for operators.
consequence of global warming
This is the second time that electricity has been free in some areas of Norway, the first time dating back to August 8 after the passage of storm Hans. According to climatologists, global warming is reflected in northern Europe in increasingly intense rainfall.
Last week, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute reported that August temperatures in Norway were 0.9°C above the seasonal normal and that after an already rainy July, rainfall there was 45% above normal levels.
In a station in the south of the country, 392.7 mm of rain were recorded in August, 257% more than normal.
Source: BFM TV
