Still high electricity prices for households

The overall price of electricity for households, including grid rent and taxes, was on average 123.4 øre per kWh in the third quarter of 2018, according to new figures from the electricity price statistics. This is 30 per cent higher compared to the third quarter in 2017. Of this the price of electricity amounted to 55.3 øre per kWh, the grid rent 28.9 øre per kWh and taxes came to 39.2 øre per kWh.

The rise in the electricity prices in the third quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year must be seen in light of the shortage of energy in the hydro power system, according to Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). The shortage contributed to the electricity price in Norway being close to the price in neighbouring countries, which was higher compared with the previous year due to higher prices on gas, coal and CO2 emissions.

Contracts with variable price most expensive

Households with variable price contracts had the most expensive contract type in the third quarter of 2018 with an average electricity price of 59.9 øre per kWh, excluding taxes and grid rent. For households with contracts tied to the spot price, which is the most common type of contract (see figure 3), the average electricity price was 54.3 øre per kWh.

Households with old fixed-price contracts had the cheapest contract type in the third quarter of 2018 with an average electricity price of 32.3 øre/kWh. Few households have power through fixed-price contracts, and these contracts represent a very low proportion of total power consumption.