Large electricity production in the second quarter

Electricity production was 35.5 terawatt hours (TWh) – the second highest that has been measured in a second quarter, shows figures from Statistics Norway (SSB). The highest production was measured in the second quarter of 2021.

– The high electricity production in the second quarter can be seen in the light of large inflows to the water reservoirs. The development of power plants and the upgrading of older power plants also contribute to a higher level of production over time, writes senior advisor Magne Holstad at Statistics Norway.

Hydropower dominates

Hydropower is still the mainstay of the Norwegian power system, with 90.1 per cent of the total electricity production of 35.5 TWh. Wind, solar and thermal power production accounted for 7.9, 0.4 and 1.6 per cent respectively of the total production in the quarter.

Total exports in the second quarter ended at 8.1 TWh. With total imports of 3.3 TWh, net exports were 4.8 TWh. There have been net exports out of Norway in all six months of the first half of this year. We have to go back to December 2023 to find a month with net imports of electricity, writes SSB.

Increase in power consumption

The total net consumption of electricity in Norway was 28.6 TWh in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 3.4 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2023. Electricity consumption in households was 7.9 TWh in the second quarter, up 1, 6 percent from the second quarter of 2023.

There was also growth in electricity consumption for all main industries in the period. Electricity consumption in primary industries, consisting of agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as greenhouses and greenhouses, was 0.6 TWh in the second quarter, up 2 per cent from the second quarter in 2023.

For the secondary industries, electricity consumption amounted to 14.5 TWh in the quarter, which is an increase of 5.3 per cent compared to the same period last year. The largest consumption group within secondary industries, power-intensive industry, had an increase of 2.6 per cent.

Power consumption in tertiary industries, which consist of service industries and transport industries, was 5.6 TWh, an increase of 1.3 per cent from the same period last year.