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ENERGY

Danes save 10 percent on energy consumption during summer

Electricity consumption, usually lower in the summer than the rest of the year, was nevertheless cut by almost 10 percent in the last three months by people living in Danish homes.

Published: 25 August 2023 16:40 CEST
Danes save 10 percent on energy consumption during summer
People in Denmark have stayed efficient on energy consumption during the summer. Photo: Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix

The last three months have seen energy consumption in Denmark come in at nine percent on average compared to normal levels for the time of year, the Danish Energy Agency said in a press statement on Friday.

July alone saw 11 percent less electricity consumption than normal, according to the agency.

The use of gas has fallen even more, with a 17 percent lower consumption over the summer compared to the average for the time of year.

The Energy Agency has encouraged households continue with energy-saving habits, given the effects of these appear to be evident from the data.

That is because energy savings in the coming autumn and winter seasons will be important in ensuring electricity and gas supplies stay sufficient, deputy director with the agency Martin Hansen said.

“Overall we are in a better situation than we were last winter but it is still very crucial that we keep saving energy,” he said in the statement.

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An electricity shortage is not expected this year if the weather conforms with usual patterns, and if consumers save energy, for example by using appliances at times when production is high.

Gas supplies could be more precarious because the EU and International Energy Agency (IEA) both expect imported Russian gas to cease, the Energy Agency says in the statement. The reopening of many industries in China following Covid closures means there could also be challenges in securing sufficient quantities of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Both the EU and IEA have therefore said that Europe must save on gas this winter, the Energy Agency noted.

Hansen said the energy situation this winter is characterised by a shift in Europe from a regionally oriented gas market to a globally oriented gas market, which is more sensitive to uncertainties.

“In the last year we have seen how the supply situation is increasingly affected by global circumstances,” he said.

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ENERGY

Danish electricity company announces ‘record negative prices’ after sunny May

A high number of sunny days in May gave Danish energy company Norlys a record number of hours in which its energy prices were negative, the company said on Monday.

Published: 3 June 2024 09:45 CEST
Danish electricity company announces 'record negative prices' after sunny May

Last month saw a total of 75 and 59 hours of ‘negative’ electricity prices in the western and eastern halves of Denmark respectively, Norlys said in a press release.

Unfortunately, a ‘negative’ price doesn’t mean you will be paid for switching the lights on, because taxes and transport costs must still be added to the base price.

Specifically, the total price paid by customers can include (in addition to the base rate) state tariffs, subscriptions, one-off charges, VAT and payments to the local energy grid.

Tariffs, like the cost of raw electricity, can also fluctuate from hour to hour. This depends on the tariff model used by individual companies.

But lower electricity prices can be taken advantage of by setting timers on thirsty appliances like dishwashers and tumble dryers and running them at these times. This can include off-peak times of the day when there is less demand for power, as well as fluctuations related to production.

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The total of 134 hours across Denmark in which customers receive a discount due to the negative ‘raw’ energy price is a record for a single month, Norlys said.

“We know that many of our customers follow electricity prices closely and the trend in May also underlines that there is a very good reason for this,” Norlys director for energy sales Mads Brøgger said in the statement.

“It’s good for your wallet and the green transition alike if you can plan your consumption for the hours in which there is a lot of sun and wind, making the electricity price low,” he said.

READ ALSO: How an app function can help cut your Danish electricity bill

May’s high frequency of negative base electricity rates can be attributed to the pleasant spring weather, which provided both wind and sun to the energy system in Denmark.

Meanwhile, Denmark’s electricity infrastructure has become more closely connected to other parts of Europe, notably Germany and The Netherlands. Both countries have increased their solar power capacity in recent years.

“It benefits us to have many sunshine hours, as was the case in May. Meanwhile, energy consumption was low in May because it was warm enough not to need electricity for heating, but not hot enough to need it for cooling. So there was a sweet spot in many ways,” Brøgger said.

The trend of low electricity prices has so far continued into June, with negative base rates occurring on Sunday for a number of hours in both the eastern and western parts of the country.

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