According to Bloomberg, electricity exports to the UK will not be affected thanks to heavy rain in Norway. The UK and some EU countries usually rely on electricity supply from Norway as its heavy rainfalls ensure a hefty surplus in its hydro reservoirs. Analysts at Bloomberg believe that this source of energy may help the rest of Europe to withstand the looming energy crisis. Norway gets almost all its electricity by running water through turbines. This makes the energy produced in Norway one of the cheapest in Europe among other renewable sources. Yet, in late 2022, hydro reservoirs in southwest Norway became depleted. By the way, energy from these hydroelectric power plants is transferred to the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. As hydro reservoirs sank, the Norwegian government warned it could limit foreign sales to protect domestic supply. Currently, Norway’s hydro reservoir levels are 8% below average while in August, they were about 25% below average. “Now we’ve had rain, luckily, so the situation is much better,” Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in an interview. Everyone was concerned about whether Norway would export energy this winter. Analysts at Rystad Energy suggest that the county won’t be a major exporter this time, but the situation may change at any moment. Many European countries depend on energy imports. Thus, the UK typically relies on imports to meet 10% of demand. Still, Britain’s National Grid Plc said that domestic electricity supply would be sufficient to live through the winter and avoid blackouts. Earlier, the news that Norway, which is responsible for 60% of all gas imports to the UK, could slash gas exports due to some domestic problems caused panic in the country. However, it did not happen. Norway is part of the single European energy market. Therefore, it is not allowed to halt energy flows to other members for prolonged periods. In late summer, Norway’s government came up with a control mechanism that would allow the country to limit energy exports if hydro reservoirs are too low.
