By Terje Solsvik
OSLO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Norway's government said on
Wednesday it would consider taxing electricity exports and
impose other changes to its energy market to preserve more power
for domestic use and keep a lid on prices.
An expert commission was appointed to evaluate six proposals
that also included the creation of separate electricity auctions
for domestic and foreign use and the carving out of some power
consumption from the spot market.
Under heavy domestic pressure to lower electricity prices
for households and industries to help ease the cost of living,
the minority centre-left government earlier on Wednesday said it
will subsidise a bigger part of household electricity bills.
The Labour-led government has also faced a domestic backlash
over new power exchange cables to Britain and Germany, which
have been partly blamed for higher electricity prices.
Previous Norwegian plans to curtail power exports have
been met with criticism from neighbouring Denmark, Finland and
Sweden, which argued that such moves may force others to adopt
similar measures, weakening regional energy security.
While Norway is not a member of the European Union, it takes
part in the EU's common market and is thus bound by rules and
regulations governing competition, limiting the country's
ability to act on its own.
Still, the government on Jan. 27 announced plans that could
lead to exports being restricted if water reservoirs at
hydropower stations fall to very low levels, which it said was
consistent with EU rules.
The new commission will deliver its report to the government
by Oct. 15.
The European Commission is itself drafting a revamp of EU
electricity market rules, with the aim of cushioning consumer
bills and avoiding a repeat of the surge in prices triggered
last year by cuts to Russian gas supply.
Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Finland,
Luxembourg and Latvia have warned Brussels not to rush into
major changes, however, calling instead for limited tweaks to
the system.
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Norway net power exports 2022 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Nora Buli and Bill
Berkrot)
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