Norgespris helped Norwegian households and holiday-home owners save more than NOK 8.5 billion, about €785 million, in the first quarter of 2026, according to figures released by Norway’s government on Friday. The result came as colder weather, low snow levels in southern Norway and instability in the energy market pushed electricity prices above the levels recorded in the same period of recent years.
How Norgespris gives households a fixed electricity price
Norgespris is Norway’s fixed-price electricity scheme for households. It gives consumers the option of paying a fixed electricity price rather than being fully exposed to hourly market prices. From 1 October 2025 to 31 December 2026, the fixed price is 40 øre per kilowatt-hour excluding VAT, with grid rent, taxes and supplier mark-ups added separately.
The scheme is voluntary and state-financed. Households can choose it for their primary homes and for holiday homes. Those who do not choose Norgespris remain covered by Norway’s ordinary electricity support scheme. Once ordered, the customer is bound to Norgespris until the end of 2026, and must actively renew the choice from 2027 if they want to continue.
For homes, Norgespris applies to electricity consumption up to 5,000 kWh per month per metering point. For holiday homes, the ceiling is 1,000 kWh per month. The government says the model is designed to give households more predictable electricity bills while keeping the electricity market in place.
Higher prices made Norgespris profitable across Norway
The government said Norgespris was profitable in all Norwegian electricity price areas in the first quarter of 2026. The calculated saving reached NOK 8.56 billion, compared with spot-market prices, while households using the ordinary electricity support scheme saved just under NOK 2.8 billion in the same period.
Energy Minister Terje Aasland said 2026 began with colder-than-normal weather and little snow in the mountains of southern Norway. Together with turmoil in the energy market, he said, this contributed to higher electricity prices than in the same period of recent years.
The largest savings were registered in southern Norway. In price area NO1, the government calculated savings of about NOK 4.6 billion under Norgespris. In NO2, which covers south-western Norway and has often seen some of the highest prices, the saving was about NOK 2.8 billion.
More than 1.6 million orders show strong demand
By 27 April 2026, more than 1.6 million Norgespris orders had been registered. According to the government, around 75 percent of households and 80 percent of holiday homes in south-western Norway’s NO2 price area had chosen the scheme.
That uptake reflects how electricity prices have become one of Norway’s most sensitive domestic issues. Norway produces large amounts of renewable power, mainly from hydropower, but prices differ sharply between regions. Southern Norway is more exposed to links with neighbouring markets, while reservoir levels and snowmelt remain important factors for expected hydropower production.
Norgespris therefore responds to two concerns at once: the direct cost of electricity and the uncertainty created by volatile prices. For many households, the political appeal of the scheme is not only the saving, but also the predictability of monthly bills.
The cost of fixed-price electricity remains the key test
The first-quarter figures strengthen the government’s argument that fixed-price electricity can protect households when market prices rise. But the longer-term impact will depend on how prices develop through 2026 and on how much the scheme costs the state.
Supporters argue that Norgespris gives families security in a market shaped by weather, hydropower conditions and wider European energy pressures. Critics of broad price support schemes have warned that they can weaken incentives to save electricity and increase public spending if high prices persist.
This makes Norway a useful Nordic case study. Across Europe, governments have struggled since the energy crisis to balance consumer protection, fiscal discipline and market-based energy pricing. Norgespris does not abolish market pricing, but it gives households a state-backed fixed option when volatility becomes politically and socially difficult to absorb.
For now, the government can point to a clear short-term outcome: households and holiday-home owners saved billions of kroner in the first quarter. The next test will be whether Norgespris can keep electricity bills predictable without creating new long-term costs or distorting energy consumption.
