Norwegian Statnett slows down power flows to southern Sweden by 45%
OSLO, 23 Nov (Reuters) – The Norwegian network operators Statnett said on Tuesday that they are curbing electricity transfers to southern Sweden, which reduces capacity by 1,000 MW, or 45%, in response to lower flows in the opposite direction.
With effect from midnight, available capacity between Norwegian bid zone NO1 and Swedish price zone SE3 will be reduced to 1,100-1,200 megawatts (MW), Statnett says in a market announcement.
It can be compared with a total capacity of 2,200 MW between the two areas, Statnett’s spokesman Henrik Glette told Reuters.
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com
Register
Statnett will no longer apply so-called system protection settings, which contribute to increased trading capacity domestically and between the Nordic countries, while at the same time providing a certain risk in the operation of the network, the network operator says in a separate statement.
Statnett’s Swedish counterpart Svenska Kraftnaet has not applied the principle for a long time to deal with internal bottlenecks. This has resulted in lower imports to Norway at times with lower prices in Sweden, but full exports to Sweden when prices were higher there, and led to unbalanced flows, which is challenging, said Glette.
“Transparency, reciprocity and common understanding are the cornerstones of the Nordic power system. We now feel that there is a need for a more similar practice in the business,” says Statnett’s CEO Hilde Tonne in the statement.
The Nordic power system is undergoing major changes related to reduced nuclear power, new wind power production and new international connections, but these have been known for many years, Tonne added.
“A well-functioning market requires transparent, balanced and predictable access to capacity and equal conditions for calculating capacity on both sides of the stock market,” she said.
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com
Register
Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.