There was a general decline in the The spot market price is derived from the Nordic power exchange (Nord Pool AS) from the participants’ combined demand and supply for electricity the next day. The price and volume are determined for each hour of the day. The spot price can vary between the different bidding areas depending on market conditions. Norway is normally divided into five price areas (NO1-NO5). of electricity in all Due to insufficiencies in the grid transmission capacity, it is not always possible to balance production and consumption of electricity across the entire country. Therefore, the Norwegian power system is divided into five price areas. NO1: Southeast-Norway, NO2: Southwest-Norway, NO3: Mid-Norway, NO4: North-Norway, NO5 West-Norway from the first to the second quarter. Nevertheless, the average electricity price for households did not decrease during the same period. This can largely be explained by the fact that payments for electricity support also fell significantly, while the average tax level and household grid rent increased from the first to the second quarter. There were significant differences in spot prices between Northern and Southern Norway in the second quarter.
The electricity price for households, including taxes and grid rent but before subtracting electricity support, was 131,0 øre/kWh in the second quarter of 2025, according to data from the Electricity price statistics.
Of the total electricity price in the second quarter, the actual electricity price accounted for 54,3 øre/kWh, grid rent 35,9 øre/kWh, and taxes 40,8 øre/kWh. When including deduction for electricity support, the average electricity price for households ended at 126,2 øre/kWh for the quarter.
– The electricity price in the second quarter of 2025 was 5,6 percent higher than the average price for the second quarter over the past five years. We still have to go back to 2021 to find a lower electricity price for households in the second quarter, says Ståle Skrede, senior advisor at Statistics Norway.
Decline in electricity support
The average electricity deduction was 4,8 øre/kWh in the second quarter, a decrease of 71 percent from the previous quarter, when the electricity support deduction averaged 16,7 øre/kWh. At the same time, the electricity deduction was higher than in the second quarter of the previous year, when it averaged 2,7 øre/kWh. Over the past two years, the average electricity deduction has ranged between 0 and 27 øre per quarter, which is significantly lower than the peak year of 2022. At that time, the electricity support reached as high as 176 øre/kWh in the third quarter for the country as a whole.
The electricity support deduction was introduced by the authorities in December 2021. The scheme entails that households have part of their electricity costs reimbursed through the grid rent (nve.no). From September 1, 2023, the electricity support has been calculated based on price and consumption per hour, instead of per month, as it was before September 2023.
Increase in tax level
The average tax level increased by 14,6 percent from the first to the second quarter, from 35,6 øre/kWh to 40,8 øre/kWh. The increase is partly due to the electricity tax rising from 9,8 to 16,9 øre/kWh in the same period. In recent years, a reduced electricity tax has applied during the winter months from January to March, while the standard rate of 16,9 øre/kWh applies from April onward for the rest of the year. However, the tax level for the second quarter of 2025 is lower than the average tax level for the second quarter over the past five years.
Increase in grid rent
The average household grid rent rose slightly from the first to the second quarter of this year, from 35,5 to 35,9 øre/kWh. Additionally, grid rents increased by 4,1 percent on average in the second quarter compared to the same quarter in 2024, and by approximately 22 percent compared to the average grid rents for the second quarter over the past five years.
– Several grid companies raised their fees in 2024, citing higher power prices, increased interest rates, higher prices for goods and services, increased investments, and reduced Market mechanisms ensure that power flows from a price area with low prices to an area with higher prices. Bottleneck revenues are created when power is transferred between areas with different electricity prices. for Statnett as reasons for this, says Ståle Skrede.
Drop in spot prices
There was a general decline in electricity prices without taxes and grid rent in the second quarter for all categories of end-users compared to the previous quarter. The price drop can be explained by the development in the spot price of electricity, which fell from the first quarter across all price areas in the country.
However, there were significant differences in electricity prices across different price areas in the second quarter. In the price areas in Central and Northern Norway (NO3 and NO4), the spot price of electricity fell by over 40 percent from the first quarter of this year, while in Southwest and Southeast Norway (NO2 and NO1), the price decline was between 12 and 16 percent in the same period.
The average spot price in NO4 was approximately 5 øre/kWh in the second quarter. In Central Norway, the spot price was around 14 øre/kWh during the same period. In the high-price areas of Southwest and Southeast Norway, the average spot price was 68 and 62 øre/kWh, respectively. In other words, the wholesale electricity price was 12 to 14 times higher in Southern Norway than in Northern Norway.
Resource situation in second quarter
Until the end of May, Norway’s total reservoir volume (nve.no) was close to the highest level recorded for those weeks over the past 20 years. The filling rate was particularly high in Central and Northern Norway. In the price areas NO3 and NO4, reservoir volumes have been well above the maximum level since 2024.
By the end of the second quarter, the total filling rate in Central and Northern Norway was 85.5 percent, about 4 percentage points above the previously recorded maximum level. In price area NO4 (Northern Norway), the The hydrological balance describes the total amount of stored energy in the energy system, and whether this is higher or lower than the average for the period. It is equal to the sum of the deviation from the historical average in reservoir filling, as well as the deviation from the historical average in snow reservoirs and soil and groundwater. was significantly higher than previously measured for the second quarter. NO3 (Central Norway) also had a positive hydrological balance at the end of the second quarter.
In Southern Norway, reservoir development was different in the second quarter. During a period when most reservoirs are typically filled by spring snowmelt, the total reservoir level in Southern Norway (price areas NO1, NO2, and NO5) only increased by about 20 percentage points, in a time of the year when the filling rate in a normal year increases by over 35 percent. This is related to low snow reserves, precipitation levels at or below normal, high hydropower production, and high exports abroad. Southern Norway has had a negative hydrological balance since the start of the year.
High electricity production and exports
According to data from the Electricity statistics, production has been high so far in 2025. The total semi-annual electricity production in the first half of 2025 was the highest recorded in this statistic, with 90 percent of this production coming from hydropower. A total of 83,7 TWh was produced in the first half of the year, of which 35,4 TWh was produced in the second quarter. Net exports out of the country amounted to 4,5 TWh in the second quarter. The total net export for January to June 2025 was 11,9 TWh.
Lower electricity prices without grid rent and taxes
The electricity price for households, excluding taxes and grid rent and without subtracting electricity support, fell from 68,1 øre/kWh in the first quarter to 54,3 øre/kWh in the second quarter, a decrease of 20 percent. For service industries, the average electricity price (excluding taxes and grid rent) fell from 67,5 to 52,2 øre/kWh, a decrease of 23 percent from the previous quarter. There was also a similar decline in electricity prices for industry, excluding energy-intensive industry. Here, the price fell by 21 percent, from 64,2 to 50,5 øre/kWh.
For energy-intensive industry, the electricity price averaged 40,1 øre/kWh in the second quarter of 2025, excluding taxes and grid rent, a decrease of 4,3 percent since the previous quarter. Much of the electricity in energy-intensive industry is purchased through long-term fixed-price contracts entered into earlier at lower prices than those seen in recent years. As a result, electricity prices in energy-intensive industry have not followed the same trend as prices in other sectors.
Lower 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. also fell for all categories of end-users compared to the previous quarter. For households, the price of such contracts dropped from 98,9 to 84,4 øre/kWh. In the same quarter last year, these contracts cost 109,2 øre/kWh. For service industries, the price fell from 95,9 to 71,3 øre/kWh, and for industry excluding energy-intensive industry, from 76,3 to 61,1 øre/kWh.
Compared to other contract types, variable price contracts remain, on average, the most expensive option for households.
At the same time, the use of such contracts has been declining since 2021. The share of electricity consumption in households with variable price contracts has fallen from 22 percent in the third quarter of 2021 to 2,1 percent in the second quarter of this year.
Spot-contracts are still the most common among households
For households, contracts linked to the spot price are the most common contract type. In the second quarter of 2025, this contract type accounted for 96 percent of electricity consumption in the country’s households. On average, spot price contracts cost 53,9 øre/kWh in the second quarter, a decrease of 21 percent from the previous quarter and roughly the same level as the second quarter of the previous year.
The price for fixed-price contracts for households was 41,3 øre/kWh in the second quarter. Fixed-price contracts accounted for 2 percent of electricity consumption in households. For service industries, this share was 8,3 percent, and for industry, excluding energy-intensive industry, the share was 7 percent. For energy-intensive industry, the share of consumption covered by fixed-price contracts is significantly higher.
