Electricity, June 2012

The very high electricity generation may be seen in light of a large amount of water in the Norwegian reservoirs at the beginning of 2012 due to the rainy and mild autumn of 2011 in addition to expectations of large inflow of water from melting snow in the mountains. According to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, the reservoir filling was above normal filling throughout the entire first half of 2012 and amounted to 68.4 per cent at the end of June. The median filling for the corresponding week was 66.6 per cent in the years 1990-2011.

All time high net export of power

Norway’s export of power totalled 11.6 TWh in the first half of 2012, whereas imports came to 1.6 TWh. This gave a net export of 10 TWh and is the highest level ever recorded for the first six months in a year. In the same period last year Norway had a net import of 7.1 TWh. Exchange of power between countries is determined by differences in generation and the consumption situation, prices, in addition to the capacity of the power lines. The high net export so far this year may be due to the fact that the large volume of water in the Norwegian power system contributed to a lower average elspot price in the first half of 2012 for the Norwegian price areas compared to the other Nordic areas.

Rise in the total electricity consumption

The total gross consumption of electricity came to 66.5 TWh in the first half of 2012, an increase of 1.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2011. The gross consumption of electricity encompasses consumption in the groups extraction of crude oil and natural gas, power-intensive manufacturing and electricity consumption excluding power-intensive manufacturing and extraction . Net loss, pump storage use and other own consumption in the power stations are also included.

Small increase in the electricity consumption of households, services etc.

Electricity consumption excluding power-intensive manufacturing and extraction amounted to 39.6 TWh in first half of 2012, an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2011. This may be seen in conjunction with lower electricity prices and a 0.2 degrees lower average temperature for Norway as a whole in the first half of this year. Households, services and manufacturing other than the power-intensive manufacturing account for the majority of the electricity consumption excluding power-intensive manufacturing and extraction. Electricity consumption in households amounts to approximately 50 per cent of the electricity consumption excluding power-intensive manufacturing and extraction.

Rise in the electricity consumption in extraction of crude oil and natural gas

Electricity consumption in plants for extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas on the mainland, including electricity distributed from the mainland to the Norwegian shelf, amounted to 3.2 TWh in the first half of 2012. This is 24 per cent more compared to the corresponding period last year. The increase may be seen in conjunction with reduced activity in some of the plants in 2011. The electricity consumption in extraction on the mainland encompasses receiving and processing plants for crude oil and natural gas.

Small decrease in the consumption in power-intensive manufacturing

Electricity consumption in power-intensive manufacturing was 17.1 TWh in first half of 2012. This is 0.5 per cent lower compared to the same period in 2011. The decline may be seen in light with closures of some wood processing establishments and reduced activity in some of the plants in the industry chemical commodity due to maintenance. Power-intensive manufacturing utilises electricity for the production of goods. Hence, the electricity consumption is not influenced by temperature.

Tables:

• Table 1 Electricity balance. Monthly. GWh