As part of efforts to facilitate a more consumer-friendly electricity market, the government today proposed changes to the Energy Act, the Marketing Act, and the Consumer Purchases Act. The bill, which affects both electricity suppliers and end-users, will now be presented to the Storting for final decision.
The government's work to facilitate a more consumer-friendly electricity market is thoroughly discussed in our Energisk episode "Electricity Agreements Explained Briefly," where we provide a basic introduction to electricity agreements and discuss several of the measures the government has now proposed. Listen to the episode here.
Key Proposals from the Government:
- Increased Ability to Revoke Sales Licenses: The government proposes to grant the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RME) the authority to revoke sales licenses under § 4-1 of the Energy Act in cases of severe or repeated violations of the Energy Act, provisions enacted under the Energy Act, and other specified provisions. Practically, this proposal means that electricity suppliers can more easily lose the right to sell electricity.
- Authority for the Consumer Authority and the Market Council to Conduct Supervision: The government proposes to give the Consumer Authority and the Market Council the authority to supervise compliance with the proposed changes. The proposal includes that the Consumer Authority and the Market Council can impose fines for significant or severe violations of the relevant regulations.
- Introduction of a 24-Hour Cooling-Off Period: The government proposes a cooling-off period for the sale of electricity agreements through telephone sales, door-to-door sales, sales at stands, and in-store. The proposal means that consumers can only accept offers for such electricity agreements 24 hours after receiving the offer. Acceptance must be in writing, and the electricity supplier must subsequently be able to document the consumer's acceptance.
- Stricter Requirements for Information about Termination Fees: The government proposes that if an electricity agreement includes terms for costs upon termination (termination fee), a calculation example must be provided in the contract terms showing how the costs are calculated. Furthermore, upon the consumer's request, the electricity supplier must indicate any potential cost of terminating the electricity agreement free of charge and within five business days.
- Increased Opportunity for Termination from the End User's Side: The government proposes that if an electricity agreement allows the electricity supplier to make unilateral changes to the agreement, any change to the detriment of the consumer can only take effect 30 days after the consumer has received written notice of the change. Furthermore, the consumer is given the opportunity to terminate the agreement free of charge before the change takes effect.
The bill has now been sanctioned, and the legal changes will take effect from July 1, 2024.
Read the bill here (in Norwegian).
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