Why do different electricity network companies levy different distribution charges?

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) maintains an overview of the various network operators’ electricity distribution charges at its website www.nve.no. Compared with continental Europe, Norway’s electricity distribution charge is low.

You pay the electricity distribution charge to have the electricity you buy transported from the place where it is generated to your home. The charge is intended to cover the costs of building, operating and maintaining power lines, cables and transformers. A substantial proportion of the electricity distribution charge is made up of public charges (consumption charge, contribution to the energy fund and VAT).

The cost of owning and operating an electricity distribution network varies. Geographical and climatic conditions affect the network operators’ costs. In most cases, it costs more to distribute electricity to thinly populated rural areas than to towns and villages.

No. You can choose which electricity supplier you want to use, but not which network operator. You are connected to the electricity distribution network through your local network operator, who is responsible for ensuring that the electricity you have bought is transported to your home.

On behalf of the Norwegian government, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) determines how much electricity network operators can earn in a particular year. Since there is only one network operator in each geographic area, the NVE audits the companies’ accounts every year to make sure they are not exploiting their monopoly position. Network operators set the price that the individual customer must pay for electricity to be delivered to their homes, but the operators’ overall income must not exceed the cap that the NVE has determined for each company.