Access to hydro power stored in reservoirs and availability of import from surrounding countries covers power need in Norway in most situations. However, the hydrological situation in Southern Norway is tighter than usual for the season, with low filling levels in the reservoirs and less snow in than mountains than usual. The war in Ukraine has also contributed to unusually high gas prices and an increasing uncertainty surrounding gas supply.
Lower precipitation than normal in the coming months, combined with a dry and cold winter would necessitate considerable imports to ensure security of supply through the winter of 2023, according to assessments from Statnett. Escalations in the war and rationing of gas in Europa may limit availability of imports. In addition, there is an inherent risk for outages on interconnectors. With this background, Statnett now considers the energy situation in Southern Norway to be pressed (yellow).
The Norwegian power market is well-functioning, and it is the power producers' responsibility to utilize their reservoirs in a way that ensures that power can be available at all times. However, the current situation entails a number of great uncertainties. With regards to security of supply through the winter of 2023, Statnett's assessment is that power producers need to include the risk for situations in the coming seasons where access to imports are lower than usual.