The expert committee presented its report on the development of the electricity grid in Norway

The committee’s mandate for the preparation of the report was to propose (1) measures to increase the efficiency of development and licensing of new grid installations, (2) principles securing a socio-economic expansion of the electricity grid considering current lack of visibility on consumption development, and (3) improvements to the system governing the obligation to connect new consumers to the electricity grid (hereafter referred to as the Obligation to Connect).

The main recommendations from the report are:

(1) Measures to increase the efficiency of development and licensing of new grid installations

a) Implementation of deadlines and progress plans
b) Early studies of anticipated impact, improved involvement, and increased use of parallel processes
c) Focus on preparatory work to improve applications and facilitate use of “fast track” processes in less complicated cases
d) Use of conditional installation licenses
e) Increase of resources for the licensing authorities

Proposed amendments to laws and regulations:

The committee has proposed to amend Section 2 of the regulation concerning external quality assurance. The amendment implies that the responsibility for the external quality assurance shall be moved from Statnett to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The committee argues that the amendment will, inter alia, contribute to earlier and more continuous involvement from the Ministry, resulting in a shorter license application process.

(2) Principles securing a socio-economic expansion of the electricity grid

a) Improvement of price signals for:

• existing electricity grid by introduction of subscribed effect in the regional and transmission grid
• new grid investments by implementing binding offers for the construction contribution at an earlier stage

b) Reimbursement of costs incurred by grid companies from conducting early studies
c) Achieve enhanced utilization of the existing electricity grid by assessing and improving current operating policies, terms for grid connection, digital interoperability, energy efficiency and enhanced use of flexibility resources
d) Preparation of a sector guideline to facilitate socio-economic analysis of grid installations

(3) Improvements to the system governing the Obligation to Connect
a) Increased standardization of the grid connection process, improved information to the relevant parties and mapping of available capacity
b) Criteria for assessment of reasonable operations and operationalization of grid connection with terms such as disconnection requirements and supply reductions
c) Clarification of objective and non-discriminatory criteria for granting of capacity – meaning a continuation of the “first in time, first in right” principle 
d) Higher frequency of inspections of grid companies’ compliance with the Obligation to Connect
e) Implementation of an extended Obligation to Connect for selected licensees

Proposed amendments to laws and regulations:

The committee has proposed to amend the wording of Section 3-4 (2) of the Energy Act from applying in “extraordinary cases” to “special cases”, meaning that the Ministry, in special cases, may grant an exemption from the Obligation to Connect and from the consumers’ obligation to invest. In addition, the committee has proposed a new Section 3-4 to the regulation concerning grid regulation and the energy market (the so-called “NEM-regulation”), which aims to clarify the obligations of the licensees.

The report (NOU 2022:6) was presented for consultation on 14 June 2022. Affected parties must submit their consultation responses to the Ministry by 30 September 2022.

Link to the report (in Norwegian only) here: