From Public Service to Market Competition: Norwegian Utilities’ Adaptation to Market Reform

Abstract

The competitive public ownership mode of liberalisation that characterises the Norwegian model has left Norwegian utilities with rather complex premises in their adaptation to market reform. Faced with market demands for efficiency and competitive prices, yet with political stakeholders still in an ownership position, many utilities have experienced strong tensions between commercial and political forces. These tensions have not been lessened by the fact that the electricity market is one of the most volatile commodity markets — especially in the Norwegian-Swedish pool, so vulnerable to precipitation variations in a hydro-based system.