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Energy prices in decline: bills have halved since August

Ben Hamilton
November 8th, 2022


This article is more than 2 years old.

With a mild winter expected, consumers can expect energy prices to remain stable, but nothing is certain, warn analysts

Electricity prices have been falling (photo: Pixabay)

Between August and October, the price of electricity fell by two-thirds on Nord Pool, the Nordic region’s electricity exchange.

This meant the average household’s bill for October was less than half that of August – falling from 1,900 to 900 kroner – the lowest the cost has been since May.

However, Denmark is not out of the woods yet, warn analysts. 

Not too dissimilar to autumn 2021
“In fact, it is approaching the electricity prices we were used to last autumn,” Danske Bank expert Louise Aggerstrøm told TV2. “It is certainly good news for the Danes that the price now seems to have come down and that there is a little more certainty about what will happen over the winter.”

Energinet senior economist Jim Vilsson concurs that it provides more certainty, but worries that we should not get carried away. While Germany’s capacity has improved massively, and nuclear power plants in France and the hydropower plants in Norway have increased production, he warns that consumers will still be impacted – particularly those reliant on gas.

“We are not back to the old normal, because we are still under pressure. Gas still costs more than in the past, and just because Germany has filled its reserves does not mean that everyone else has,” he told TV2.

Forecasts in our favour
As things stand, weather forecasters predict the coming winter will be mild, which is good news for Danish consumers.

However, should Norwegian hydropower plants freeze over earlier than expected, this could push prices up, cautioned Vilsson 

“It is not like we are saved, because we are in a very nervous situation. It is not as extreme as in August, but each new development causes prices to rise or fall significantly more than they did previously,” he said.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”