The price of electricity for households, including grid rent and taxes, but without deduction of electricity support from the government, was on average 141,7 øre/kWh in 2025, according to new figures from the electricity price statistics.
Of the total price of electricity, the actual electricity price was 66,2 øre/kWh, the grid rent was 36,3 øre/kWh, and taxes were 39,2 øre/kWh. With deduction for electricity support from the government the average household price was 125,1 øre/kWh.
– The overall electricity price for households in 2025 was just slightly above the average price of the past five years. We have to go back to 2020 to find a lower annual electricity price in the statistics, says Thomas Aanensen, Senior Adviser at Statistics Norway.
It is important to emphasize that electricity prices have varied significantly from north to south in the country, also in 2025.
Electricity support from the government
From the 4th quarter of 2025, households could choose either to be part of the ordinary electricity support scheme or the new support scheme called Norway price. Norway price was introduced by the authorities on 1 October 2025 as a voluntary scheme for households and holiday homes, aimed at providing a predictable fixed electricity price throughout the year, before supplier mark-ups, taxes, and grid tariffs, by applying either a deduction or an addition on the grid tariff invoice.
In 2025, electricity support from the government, shown as a weighted average of the ordinary electricity support scheme and the Norway price scheme, amounted to 16,5 øre/kWh for the country as a whole. This was an increase of 9,1 øre/kWh compared with the previous year, when it was 7,4 øre/kWh, but far lower than the highest level of 91,4 øre/kWh recorded in 2022, when household electricity prices were at their peak.
The ordinary electricity support amounted to 10,8 øre/kWh in 2025, while support to households with the Norway price scheme, which was introduced in the 4th quarter, totaled 16,4 øre/kWh for the year overall.
– In the 4th quarter of 2025, support for households with Norway price amounted to 54,8 øre/kWh for the country as a whole, while support to households under the ordinary electricity support scheme was 10,1 øre/kWh. The combined weighted electricity support from the government from the two schemes was 29,2 øre/kWh for the quarter, says Aanensen.
The share of household electricity consumption from households with Norway price has been increasing since the scheme was first introduced in October 2025. Figures from Elhub (elhub.no) show that at the beginning of February 2026 consumption from households connected to Norway price accounted for around 55 percent of total household electricity consumption nationwide. The highest share was in Southwest Norway (NO2), where around 79 percent of consumption was linked to the Norway price scheme. The share was also high in the two other southern price areas, Southeast Norway (NO1) and West Norway (NO5), at 69 and 63 percent respectively. In Central Norway (NO3), the share was 8 percent, while in Northern Norway (NO4) it was very close to zero.
Only a small increase in the grid rent
For households, grid rent increased from 2024 to 2025 by only 0,8 percent, reaching 36,3 øre/kWh. This is the highest annual grid rent level recorded in the statistics. Compared with the average grid tariff over the past five years, the 2025 level was 19 percent higher.
Most major grid companies increased their tariffs significantly during 2024. As justification for the increases, companies cited higher electricity prices, rising interest rates, higher prices for goods and services, increased investments, as well as lower congestion revenues for Statnett. For the country as a whole, there was little change in grid tariff levels from 2024 to 2025.
Reduced tax on electricity
In the winter months from January to March, the electricity tax has been reduced in recent years. The rationale for a lower “winter” tax rate on electricity consumption (skatteetaten.no) is said to be the high electricity consumption among consumers in the winter months, in addition to the high electricity prices seen in recent years. In the 1st quarter of 2025, the electricity tax rate was 9,8 øre/kWh. The rate for the 2nd and 3rd quarters was the normal rate of 16,9 øre/kWh. As part of the revised national budget for 2025, the electricity tax was again reduced slightly to 12,5 øre/kWh for the months October through December. In 2026, the electricity tax has been further reduced to 7,1 øre/kWh, which will apply for the entire year.
Development of the spot price in 2025
In the electricity spot market, 2025 was also characterized by large regional price differences. The spot price in Northern and Central Norway generally remained well below the spot price further south in the country throughout the year. In Northern Norway (NO4), the spot price was very low in 2025, especially from January to October, when the monthly averages ranged between 2 and 10 øre/kWh. The southernmost price area, NO2, had the highest spot prices during 2025, with the highest monthly average occurring in February at 100 øre/kWh.
For the year as a whole, the spot price in Southwest Norway (NO2) was about 12 percent higher than in Southeast Norway (NO1), and more than seven times higher than in Northern Norway (NO4). This can be linked to strong transmission capacity from NO2 to foreign markets with higher prices, while the ability to transfer electricity from the other price areas into NO2 was insufficient to offset the price differences. In Northern Norway, resource conditions were very favorable in 2025, while the ability to transmit electricity southward was limited.
Resource situation in 2025
At the beginning of 2025, the total reservoir volume in Norway (nve.no) was high. Reservoir filling levels were 10,2 percentage points above the median for the past 20 years and very close to the highest levels recorded for the period. Reservoir levels remained very high throughout the first half of the year, while they were close to, or somewhat below, the median for much of the second half. The hydrological balance for the country was around 7 TWh above the historical average at the start of the year, while by the end of December 2025 it was around 4 TWh below the average for the period.
However, there were large regional differences in 2025. In Central and Northern Norway, reservoir levels were very high. In the NO4 price area (Northern Norway), reservoir volumes were above previously recorded maximum levels for much of the year, and the hydrological balance was very high almost the entire year.
In Southern Norway, situation was different in 2025. Reservoir filling levels were well below the median during most of the second half of the year, especially in Southeast Norway (NO1) and Southwest Norway (NO2). The hydrological balance was also below the historical average for much of the year.
Record high electricity production and net export of power
Total electricity production in Norway reached 161.8 TWh in 2025, according to figures from the Electricity statistics. This is the highest annual production level recorded in the statistics. The high production of electricity in 2025 must be seen partly in light of substantial water volumes in the reservoirs at the start of the year, and it was particularly hydropower that contributed to the increase from 2024 to 2025.
Even though total national production reached record levels, there were considerable regional differences. In the three southern price areas (NO1, NO2, and NO5), hydropower production decreased by 3 percent. In Central and Northern Norway (NO3 and NO4), however, production increased by as much as 23 percent from 2024 to 2025
Higher prices excluding grid rent and taxes
The electricity price for households, excluding taxes and grid rent, and without deducting electricity support from the government, increased from 59,9 øre/kWh in 2024 to 66,2 øre/kWh in 2025, an increase of about 10 percent. For service industries, the average electricity price (excluding taxes and grid rent) was 13 percent higher compared to 2024, from 55,1 to 62,5 øre/kWh.
The statistics also show a corresponding increase in electricity prices for industries outside of power-intensive industries. Here, the price increased from 54,5 to 60,1 øre/kWh. For all these categories of end-users, the electricity price is around 10 øre/kWh lower than the average price over the past five years.
For power-intensive industries, the average electricity price in 2025 was 42 øre/kWh, excluding taxes and grid rent, an increase of 2 percent compared to 2024. Much of the electricity in power-intensive industries is purchased through long-term fixed-price contracts, which were entered into at a lower price than in recent years. Therefore, the electricity price in energy-intensive industries has not followed the same trend as in other industries.
Fall in electricity prices for variable price contracts
The price of For contracts of this type, the electric utility companies are under obligation to notify the consumer of any price changes at least a fortnight ahead of the actual price change. This means that the price is locked for a period of at least fourteen days. fell for both households and industries excluding power-intensive industries in 2025 compared to the previous year. For households the price went from 111,5 øre/kWh to 90,9 øre/kWh, while for industries excluding power-intensive industries, the price fell from 75 to 69,4 øre/kWh.
For service‑providing industries, the price increased somewhat compared with 2024, from 82,9 to 88,8 øre/kWh.
Compared to other types of contracts, variable price contracts remain by far the most expensive option for households. At the same time, the proportion of households purchasing such contracts is low and has significantly decreased since 2021. The share of household electricity consumption under variable price contracts fell from a peak of 22 percent in the third quarter of 2021 to 1,6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Spot price and fixed-price contracts
For households, contracts linked to the spot price are the most common type of contract. In the last quarter of 2025, this type of contract accounted for 97,2 percent of the electricity consumption in the country's households. On average, spot market contracts cost 66,1 øre/kWh in 2025. This represents an increase of 12 percent from 2024.
The price for fixed price contracts for households in 2025 was 47,5 øre/kWh. Fixed price contracts accounted for 1,2 percent of household electricity consumption in the 4th quarter. For service providing industries, this share was 7,4 percent, and for manufacturing industries excluding energy intensive industry, the share was 6,7 percent. For energy intensive industry, the share of consumption covered by fixed price contracts is considerably higher.
The share of electricity consumption covered by fixed price contracts has been declining for households since electricity prices began to rise sharply toward the end of 2021. Many electricity suppliers appear to have been cautious about offering new fixed price contracts due to high uncertainty surrounding future electricity price developments. Most new fixed price contracts seem to have been concluded in the price area Northern Norway (NO4).
