Unions Fear Norway Export Drive Will End Era of Cheapest Power
- Ties with EU’s energy market to be debated in Parliament
- Utilities want to sell more cheap hydro power abroad
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Norway’s vast resources of Europe’s cheapest and greenest electricity has helped its energy-intensive industry gain an edge and produce everything from aluminum to chemicals and tankers.
But now the nation’s powerful unions are objecting to plans by grid managers and utilities to get in on the act by spending more than $6 billion on cables to profit from selling electricity abroad where prices are as much as 30 percent more expensive. Industry Energy, part of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, says this will hike Norwegian prices, cost jobs and curb investments.