Norway hydroelectric reservoirs hit 30-year seasonal low

Reservoir levels in the NO2 power region have reached their lowest seasonal levels in at least 30 years. As of week 35, the filling degree was 45.9 percent, which is lower than during the 1996 drought and lower than levels seen during the same period in most of the last 20 years.

Critics argue that the Støre government has allowed reservoirs to be depleted to concerning levels. This trend follows the commissioning of major international interconnectors, Nordlink to Germany and North Sea Link to the United Kingdom, in 2021 and 2022. Data suggests that hydroelectric power is increasingly being produced for immediate market sale rather than being stored. In 2025, Southern Norway was a net exporter of electricity in 51 out of 52 weeks.

Comparisons between precipitation and reservoir levels indicate that since 2021, reservoir levels for similar amounts of accumulated rainfall have been approximately 10 to 20 percentage points lower than in the 1995–2021 period.