SHARE
COPY LINK

ENERGY

Danes cut electricity use by ten percent with prices ‘the same’ as last year

Electricity prices were similar in January 2022 and January 2023, but consumers in Denmark used around 10 percent less power this year compared to last.

Danes cut electricity use by ten percent with prices ‘the same’ as last year
Electricity prices have returned to more stable levels but Danish consumers are still being efficient. File photo: Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix

Increased awareness and saving measures appear to have left their mark on Danish electricity consumers, according to a report by broadcaster DR.

As energy bills shot upwards last year because of factors including inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many began to limit or economise their use of electricity and energy.

Measures included the use of apps to track the hourly price, use of appliances at night and turning down heaters and switching off lights.

READ ALSO:

While electricity prices were extremely high during the late summer and autumn last year, reaching over 8 kroner per kilowatt hour in August, they are now back at a comparable level to January 2022, when the price rises were yet to take hold.

Analysis from energy companies NRGi and Norlys have both found that people in Denmark used considerably less electricity in January this year than they did 12 months prior, DR reports.

Norlys said its customers used 13 percent less energy from one January to the next, while NRGi found the same trend, placing the difference at around 10 percent.

“This shows that we have retained good habits,” Norlys Energy’s head of customer service Pernille Storgaard told DR.

That makes sense despite what are currently equivalent energy prices between this year and last, an analyst said.

“The fall in price [since mid-late 2022, ed.] looks like stopping now and then the electricity price will be at the level we have now. That is around 1 krone per kilowatt hour when it’s not windy and a bit less when it’s windy or the sun is shining,” Kristian Rune Poulsen, senior consultant with Green Energy Denmark, told DR.

Denmark’s increased reliance on wind and sun generated power means swings in price are more likely than in the past, he said.

“You can still save money by moving energy consumption by, for example, turning on the dishwasher at night. If you have an electric car, or are a high consumer of electricity, even more money can be saved by being a flexible consumer,” he said.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

COST OF LIVING

Will Danish farming emissions tax mean more expensive meat?

Denmark’s government has reached an agreement with the agricultural and conservation sectors that is likely to see an emissions tax on farming. Will it affect the price of meat?

Will Danish farming emissions tax mean more expensive meat?

Why is Denmark introducing an emissions tax on agriculture? 

The government has announced an agreement with interest organisations for both agriculture and nature conservation, which is likely to see the introduction of a world-first CO2 emissions tax on farming.

The agreement, which has been months in the making, would make Denmark the first country in the world to impose an emissions tax on its agriculture sector.

Various groups have agreed that the agriculture industry will, from 2030, pay a tax of 300 kroner per ton on its CO2 emissions. The tax will rise to 750 kroner in 2035.

A Danish CO2 agriculture tax has long been the goal of the coalition government but has faced resistance from farmers and from some opposition parties, as well as from interest organisations for the sector.

With the agreement, Denmark can meet its target of a 70 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus said at the briefing.

“This is the last political agreement needed for us to reach our 70 percent target in 2030. It’s a landmark,” he said.

A combination of a tax on livestock, reduction of fertiliser use, reforestation and extraction of carbon-rich low-lying soils will reduce emissions, the government says.

Its implementation is likely but not certain: Parliament has begun its summer recess, meaning the government, which has a wafer-thin majority, must wait until autumn to table the necessary bill to pass the agreement into law. It is expected to try to persuade opposition parties to back the deal to give it a stronger majority.

READ ALSO: Denmark announces agreement on landmark CO2 tax for agriculture

Will it affect the price of meat? 

The short answer is ‘yes’, going by comments given by Minister for Economic Affairs Stephanie Lose to national broadcaster DR.

A price rise of 1 krone per packet of minced beef can be expected as a consequence of the agreement, Lose said.

That comes despite Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen saying during the 2022 general election campaign – when the CO2 tax was a prominent topic – that Danes should not pay extra for their shopping as a result of such a tax.

“A single mother with three children who play football makes spaghetti bolognese. I don’t want to place extra taxes on what I consider completely normal food products,” Frederiksen said at the time.

Lose said she was aware of the PM’s comments from two years ago but that the cost increase was a small price to pay for the landmark deal.

“In 2030, a packet of minced beef will cost 1 krone more for 500 grams in the supermarket,” the minister said to DR.

“I think that 1 krone reflects that we are now taking some huge decisions that will make a difference for Danish climate, for our nature and for our aquatic environments,” she said.

She also referred to tax cuts implemented by the current government which gave “completely normal Danes more cash in hand”.

SHOW COMMENTS