STOCKHOLM, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) — Swedish households reduced their electricity use in September and October, and consumption fell by almost a quarter in areas with the highest prices, Dagens Nyheter (DN) reported on Tuesday.
– Electricity use has dropped like a stone, says Jesper Liverod from the electricity company Ellevio to DN.
Sweden is divided into four areas with different electricity pricing and in some regions in the south where consumers pay the most per kilowatt hour (kWh), consumption fell by almost 25 percent compared to the average in previous years.
“It is likely that we will see an even greater reduction in November,” Liverod told DN.
Energy company Eon has seen a similar decline, where households in Stockholm and further south reduced consumption by 19 percent in September and 18 percent in October.
In the northern part of the country, where prices are usually significantly lower, Eon has seen a 12 percent drop in usage in October, DN reported.
National electricity grid company Svenska kraftnat has warned that households may be temporarily without electricity during a very cold winter. However, Liverod told DN that the fact that households have adapted to the higher prices means that there is a lower risk of power outages occurring.
– The electricity supply becomes more balanced, which reduces the risk that parts of the grid have to be disconnected for shorter periods when there is a power shortage to prevent even worse consequences, he said.
Since Europe was thrown into an energy crisis due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine over gas supplies, the Swedish people have become accustomed to unusually high energy prices.
Electricity prices in Sweden have skyrocketed several times in recent months, with peaks of close to eight kroner (about 76 cents) per kWh.
According to Statistics Norway, prices increased by an average of 25.6 percent in October compared to the same month last year. (1 Swedish krona = 0.095 US dollars)
Source: sn.dk
