The report presents a need for upgrades and development of the distribution grid according to studies of three different scenarios.
Svenska Kraftnät and Statnett are now publishing the report ”Swedish-Norwegian Grid Development – Three Scenarios”.

”As the power supply in Norway and Sweden is closely linked, Statnett and Svenska Kraftnät believe that meeting these challenges together will be mutually beneficial for the two companies,” says Mikael Odenberg, President and CEO of Svenska Kraftnät.

”Both countries expect an increase in renewable energy production. This will make us even more dependent on good joint solutions for the grids as well as other power market frameworks,” says President and CEO of Statnett, Auke Lont.

Norway and Sweden have a long-standing tradition of close cooperation in power supply issues. The two national grid companies are now working on specific plans to establish a DC interconnector between the two countries, the SydVest link. Sweden will introduce price zones in 2011 and on the Norwegian side of the border, new cables are being constructed across the Oslofjord. The combination of these initiatives will improve the Nordic power market and secure a stable power supply in both countries.

The report from Statnett and Svenska Kraftnät which is now being published identifies the following key trends going forward:

• The planned introduction of a joint Swedish-Norwegian certificate market is likely to increase the number of renewable energy production initiatives. Furthermore, the EU aims to introduce requirements for energy efficiency and an increasing proportion of renewable energy production through its so-called Renewables Directive. This will most likely result in an increased power surplus in Norway and Sweden, combined with a shift towards less flexible power production, such as wind power and run-of-river hydropower. An increased power surplus will result in a need for increased capacity in the transmission grid and thus construction of new power cables.
  
• Under normal circumstances, Norway and Sweden have a stable security of supply. An increasing proportion of renewable energy, ageing nuclear facilities and a growing tendency towards more extreme weather situations are all factors which indicate a more strained security of supply in the future. Last winter demonstrated the importance of Swedish nuclear power for security of supply in Norway and Sweden. A continued increase in the use of less flexible power generation sources may result in similar conditions as experienced last winter in the future, for instance in situations with low wind power generation and high consumption.
  
• Both in Norway and in Sweden there is political will to reduce differences in power prices between different areas. One of the tools to achieve this is to upgrade the power grid between areas with surpluses and areas with power shortages. It is particularly important to reduce bottlenecks in the general flow of electricity from production areas in the North to consumption centres in the South. This challenge is expected to increase proportionally with the increased use of renewable energy sources.

The Nordic countries’ plans for the future make the Swedish-Norwegian cooperation even more important. This was also emphasised by the Energy Ministers’ Meeting which took place in Copenhagen on 25 October.