According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Sofie Marhaug described the government as having performed a '180-degree turn' since August 8, 2023, when ministers promised replacement power for the electrification of Melkøya. The government now claims there is no connection between the power boost and the electrification of Melkøya, according to the same source. The press conference in August 2023 was two-part, with one segment addressing electrification for Equinor and another about the power boost, multiple reports indicate.
5 TWh of electricity alone, according to multiple reports. The government's goal is to increase power production at least as much as the planned consumption increase at Hammerfest LNG by 2030, though specific measures and timelines to achieve this remain unclear. State secretary in the energy department Snorre Skjevrak Erichsen stated that the power boost is a political goal for the government and not a prerequisite for Snøhvit Future.
I think Støre and Aasland have done a 180-degree turn, says Sofie Marhaug, deputy leader of Rødt.
According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Eivind Berstad described the electrification of Melkøya as formally independent of the power and industry boost in Finnmark, but noted they are connected. ' According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Sofie Marhaug suggested that while the government may not have formally promised these things to Equinor, they gave voters and the Storting the impression that the two initiatives were connected. According to NRK Nyheter, Guri Melby described the situation as 'obviously due to international conditions' but noted that the Ap government had been warned for years that their spending would make it harder for Norges Bank to lower interest rates.
Norges Bank kept the key policy rate unchanged on Thursday, but interest rate increases are signaled during the year, according to multiple reports. The government's contradictory stance has raised questions about its ability to deliver on energy infrastructure commitments in northern Norway.
They claim there is no connection between the power boost and the electrification of Melkøya. But the same ministers stood on August 8, 2023, and promised that here we will bring replacement power.
It is correct that the electrification of Melkøya is formally independent of the power and industry boost in Finnmark, but they are connected, says Eivind Berstad in Bellona.
So I understand well that people feel a bit tricked.
It may well be that they have not formally promised these things to Equinor. But to the voters, to the population, to the Storting, they have given the impression that these two things are connected.
I think that is very serious and worthy of criticism. And it is such that one has actually led a lot of people astray.
It is absolutely not coincidental. Melkøya will use as much electricity as the rest of Finnmark. So one is absolutely forced to get new power production in place so that not power pri
The government was obviously willing to say anything before an election, before they now run from their own promises, says Høyre's deputy leader Ola Svenneby.
Venstre leader Guri Melby says the situation is obviously due to international conditions, but that the Ap government has been warned for years that their spending would make it harder for Norges Bank to lower interest rates.