Norway is to curb electricity exports to Europe if water levels for its hydropower plants remain low in a blow to hopes that the Nordic country could help ease its neighbors’ energy concerns ahead of a difficult winter.
Under political pressure from high local electricity prices despite abundant hydropower resources, Norway’s center-left government decided on Monday to prioritize refilling its reservoirs when their water levels are below seasonal averages.
Norway is one of the biggest electricity exporters in Europe, often selling via cables to the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Denmark. This latest move foreshadows a tough winter for the continent as it grapples with the implications for energy supplies of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The government will ensure that we have arrangements that prioritize the filling of our hydropower reservoirs and the security of supply for electricity, and limit exports when the water level in the reservoirs falls to very low levels,”
Terje Aasland, Norway’s oil and energy minister, told political parties on Monday.
Norway has exported electricity throughout its summer even though many hydropower reservoirs are at historically low levels following a dry winter and spring.
Water levels in the south of Norway — where most of its export cables are based — are at their lowest since 1996 at just 49-3 percent, compared with a seasonal average of 74-4 percent, according to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate.
Aasland said officials would decide the exact mechanism in the next week but suggested that when reservoir levels were below the seasonal average, exports would be curbed.
He added that electricity rationing — initially for street lights and mountain cabins — was a possibility in Norway, although unlikely even though the situation was “tight”.
Some Norwegian politicians have suggested shutting off exports until the energy crisis is over amid anger at high prices for domestic consumers even while the state is earning record amounts from selling energy. Authorities have said that is not possible as Norway, although not an EU member, is part of the