Electricity, October 2002

The gross domestic consumption was 10 962 GWh in October. This is up 9.6 per cent compared with the same month last year. For the period January to October the consumption was 95.9 TWh, and this is down 5.3 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year. For this period warm weather and lower activity in power-intensive manufacturing explain the decline in the consumption of electric energy. This trend came to a halt with unusual cold weather in October. The activity in power-intensive manufacturing mainly determines the consumption of electric energy in this sector, and this sector decreased the consumption by 6.4 per cent compared with the same month last year. The total consumption apart from power-intensive manufacturing increased by 15.5 per cent. For sectors like private and public service activities and private households the consumption of electric energy in short term is mainly determined by the temperature. The price index for households' shows that the total price in October was 2.5 per cent lower compared with the corresponding month last year. The total price includes the tariff on distribution and taxes in addition to the price of electricity. The same index shows that the total price increased by 12.6 per cent from July to October, while the price decreased by 1.2 per cent in the same period last year.

High production

The production of electric energy was 11 824 GWh in October. This is up 18.8 per cent compared with October last year, and the second highest ever recorded for this month. The total production for the period January to October was 106 TWh, 10.7 per cent more than for the same period last year. The net exports for this period were 13.8 TWh. Net exports in October were 862 GWh. Some of the exports have been to cover a considerable drop in production of electric energy in Sweden. The low water power production in Sweden is due to low water levels in the reservoirs, while the lower production in atomic power plants is due to some technical problems and revision. There were also low water levels in Norwegian reservoirs, and 23 October the levels were at 75.7 per cent of total capacity. The median for this week is 89.4. Since the precipitation was low in October, the high production led to a draining off the reservoirs. The precipitation has been modest in recent months, but for the period January to October the Meteorological Office reports that the precipitation has been 5 % above the normal for the entire country.

See also

Reservoir level

Prices of electric energy

Tables:

• Table 1 Production, import, export and consumption of electric energy. GWh. Preliminary figures