Economists seek more transparent Nordic electricity market

The pricing policy of Nord Pool should be more comprehensible and transparent for consumers, say Swedish economists Thomas Tangerås and Sven–Olof Fridolfsson, who have been studying competition on the power market of the Nordic countries.

The economic specialists focussed their attention on suspicions that Nord Pool is abusing its monopoly status to raise prices. The issue boiled over last December when the arrival of sub-zero temperatures saw electricity prices in the Nordic countries skyrocket. Nord Pool explained the sharp rise as being due to the drop in the use of nuclear energy, which in turn raised the question as to why consumption had suddenly decreased when the coldest weather of the season had just arrived.