Consumers get double electricity bill for Christmas (Aftenposten)

The country’s power generators plan to send record-high electricity bills to their customers for Christmas this year. Hundreds of thousands of people will have to prepare themselves for prices that are almost twice as high. Today many domestic consumers pay up to NOK 0.60 per kWh, but in a couple of weeks that price could have jumped to NOK 1.30. Statnett, which operates Norway’s national grid, has divided the country into four price zones. Electricity prices could be pushed up in an effort to reduce consumption in individual areas. If that happens, electricity will be most expensive in the west country and mid-Norway. Secret plans for electricity rationing have already been prepared as a last resort.

Panic in electricity market (Dagbladet)

Electricity prices are causing a panic in the market. But at the same time we are exporting huge quantities of electricity. In the course of one hour yesterday afternoon, the net export of power was 1,067 MW per hour, according to Statnett’s own figures. This corresponds to 50 times an average household’s normal annual consumption. According to a newsletter published by market analysts, Europower: "There is panic in the market, and there is nothing to indicate that prices are approaching their peak".

No room at the jail (Verdens Gang)

You have been warned – the country’s prisons are so full that offenders who should have been behind bars are having to be released. In the past few days several notorious criminals have been let out of jail because there is not a remand cell to be found in any of the Oslo region’s prisons. Police inspector Kåre Kalvå of the Romerike police district was forced to give the go-ahead for the release of three prisoners on Tuesday, despite the fact that both the police and the court felt it was of vital importance to protect society from the trio.

Immigrant neighbours alright for nine out of ten (Dagsavisen)

Most Norwegians believe that immigrants make a useful contribution to Norwegian working life, enrich cultural life in Norway and make alright neighbours. This is the conclusion of a nationwide survey carried out by Statistics Norway. Compared with similar surveys from the 15 EU countries, Norway emerges high on the list in several areas. "This is surprising since the EU survey was carried out in 2000, while the Norwegian survey was carried out this year – after 9/11," said Benedicte Lie, who coordinates immigration statistics at Statistics Norway.

Food authority admits controls were too strict (Aftenposten)

The Norwegian Food Control Authority has now lifted its complete ban on supermarkets freezing fresh meat products in-house. Several supermarkets have been caught doing just that in the past few weeks. The Food Control Authority admits it made a mistake, but stands firm by its claim that the Meny supermarket chain is "far and away the worst offender when it comes to using meat past its sell-by date in the production of other food products and having inadequate routines". Both Norwegian and European regulations are so strict that it would be naïve to believe that the Meny supermarket chain is the only one operating in a grey area, says our commentator.

Interest rate cut expected soon (Dagens Næringsliv)

A single sentence filled macro-economists from financial services providers and the money market with the spirit of Christmas yesterday. "In addition, a preliminary evaluation of certain new trends with regard to developments in the economic cycle will be given," it said. The sentence was included as a sub-title to the speech Central Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem gave in Bodø the previous evening. Interest rates fell by around 0.15 percentage points, which is a lot in response to a single event.

Statoil aims to stop Røkke (Aftenposten)

Kjell Inge Røkke’s company, Aker Energy, wants to become an operator of small oil fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. But even before Mr Røkke’s company has received official approval as an operator, Statoil has announced that it intends to do the job itself. "There is no good reason why we cannot do this job as well as Aker Energy or other small operators," said Henrik Carlsen, who heads Statoil’s activities on the Norwegian continental shelf. Major finds in Norwegian territorial waters are becoming extremely few and far between.

Home Guard weapons to be fitted with gun locks (NTB)

In connection with the national budget, a majority in the Storting’s Defence Committee has decided that the firing pins on all Home Guard weapons are to be handed in and replaced with gun locks. Progress Party representatives voted against the move. "Firing pins are to be called back with immediate effect. Within a three-year period all Home Guard weapons will be fitted with a gun lock," said Labour’s Marit Nybakk, who chairs the Storting’s Defence Committee.

Customs officers attack police actions at border crossings (Aftenposten)

A number of customs officers are extremely upset at the police’s handling of "Operation Advent", which is supposed to uncover offences such as smuggling and illegal immigration. The customs officers have reacted strongly to the fact that they were not included in the action, which has been carried out in several border areas around the country. Customs officers have contacted their trade union to express their disappointment over the fact that their competence was not made use of. They are left wondering if the police have taken over part of their job.

1. Worth Noting

• In the past few days, four British jet fighters have been caught red handed while flying illegally in Troms and Finnmark. A pilot currently involved in the investigation of the 1982 Mehamn air crash says he is not surprised. The Storting is to appoint a new commission of inquiry into the accident, in which an aircraft belonging to the Widerøe airline crashed into the sea with the loss of 15 lives.
  (Aftenposten)
• Steen Reegård, chief economist at the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), is furious with the Labour Party for not criticizing Central Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem. According to Mr Reegård, Mr Gjedrem is chasing Norwegian industry out of the country. It was Labour’s performance during the finance debate in the Storting that has incensed the LO.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The flow of drugs coming into Oslo is now so great that dealers are keeping stocks back in an effort to prevent prices from falling. Seizures of all types of illegal drugs have increased, and over twice as many juveniles have been charged with drug offences so far this year.
  (Dagsavisen)
• The Socialist Left Party’s Inga Marta Thorkildsen and the Progress Party’s Siv Jensen are leading efforts to create a cross-party women’s alliance to help women who are being pursued by violent men. The Storting voted in favour of several new initiatives yesterday.
  (Dagsavisen)
• Energy-intensive enterprises are shutting down their smelting furnaces and selling the electricity instead. They are making millions of kroner in profit on the difference between the low-cost electricity they receive as industrial consumers and today’s record-high electricity prices.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Former Labour minister Tore Tønne went straight from cabinet office to a new job as a consultant, charging millions of kroner in fees. In addition, Dagbladet can reveal today, he applied for and was granted three months back pay from the state. "If any unwarranted payments were made, I am certain the money will be paid back," said Tore Tønne’s previous boss, former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, while underlining that he had no knowledge of the details of the case.
  (Dagbladet)

2. Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

It almost beggars belief. In a country which is overflowing with hydro-electric power, we are heading for an electricity crisis and possible rationing. While the water level in the reservoirs supplying the country’s HEP plants continues to sink, electricity prices are reaching for the sky. And it is going to get worse. The weathermen have forecast cold weather ahead, and the power companies even higher prices. As expected, the opposition parties have latched onto the crisis with enthusiasm – though we cannot remember the Labour government having any better solution during the last serious price hike in 1996. The Socialist Left Party has proposed the reintroduction of a two-price system, which would penalize luxury consumption. On the face of it an attractive idea, but one that would be difficult to implement in practice. If anything, the electricity crisis shows that we need to develop alternative energy sources – fast. And, in our opinion, gas-fired power stations are the best and easiest solution. Plans exist for the use of environment-friendly technology. They should be reconsidered.