Electricity, December 2001

The production of electricity was 13 805 GWh in December. Preliminary figures for 2001 show that the production in 2001 reached 121 856 GWh. This is a decrease of 14.8 per cent from the record-year 2000. This decrease is due to less trickle of water than in 2000. In spite of lower water reservoirs levels than normal last year the production was above normal production for the Norwegian power system, which is estimated to be 118 700 GWh. This is due to some use of water reservoirs in addition to the trickle of water in 2001.

High consumption of electricity

The consumption of electricity was 12 873 GWh in December. This is an increase of 3.4 per cent compared with the corresponding month in 2000. The increase in electricity consumption from December 2000 to December last year can be partially explained by temperatures above normal in December 2000 for most of the country, while the temperature in December 2001 was below normal for almost the entire country. The consumption in December 2001 was 5.1 per cent higher than the average consumption for the last ten years.

The gross consumption in 2001 was 125 454 GWh, 1 525 GWh more than in 2000, which is a growth of 1.2 per cent. The consumption has increased on average by 1 639 GWh annually the last ten years.

Export surplus in December

Export of electricity came to 1 405 GWh in December, and the imports 474 GWh. This means an export surplus of 931 GWh, which is 7 per cent less than for the same month in 2000. In the entire year there was an import surplus of 3 592 GWh. In 2000 there was an exceptionally high production of electricity and export surplus came to 19 055 GWh.

Tables:

• Table 1 Production, import, export and consumption of electric energy. GWh. Preliminary figures