NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Jøran Sandvik, Aksel Tannum and Ida Mattsson Sperre, Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS
1.3 Foreign Investment Review Process Public Ownership Hydropower To utilise water resources for electricity produc- tion, the power producer must acquire the nec- essary property rights for the waterfalls and per- tinent rights (see the Waterfall Rights Act, which does not apply to small-scale hydropower plants under the limit of 4,000 natural horsepower). Licences under the Waterfall Rights Act are exclusively granted to public entities. These enti- ties may be Norwegian state-owned enterprises, municipalities or county authorities, as well as companies where public bodies make up at least two-thirds of the capital and the votes. Private entities are permitted to own up to one-third of a company that possesses a licence under the Waterfall Rights Act. A licence application under the Waterfall Rights Act shall be filed to the Ministry of Energy. According to the Energy Act (Section 4-8), only the TSO (Statnett SF) can own transmission grid facilities. The Security Act Foreign investments may be subject to owner- ship screening under the Security Act. This own- ership screening requirement applies to entities that fall under the purview of the Act, as well as suppliers of goods or services involved in clas- sified procurements. Under the Security Act, a ministry has the authority to determine that Chapter 10 (which covers ownership screening) should be applicable to businesses determined to have significant importance for national secu- rity. When acquiring a qualifying holding in an entity that is subject to Chapter 10 of the Security Act, the acquirer is required to notify the Ministry.
at the forefront, having the overall responsibility for the energy sector. 1.2 Principal State-Owned or Investor- Owned Entities Production As mentioned in 1.1 Law Governing the Struc- ture and Ownership of the Power Industry , about 88% of production comes from hydro- power, and 90% of hydropower resources are owned by public entities. The following players are at present the largest in Norway in the pro- duction segment: • Statkraft AS (100% state-owned); • Hafslund Kraft AS; and • Å Energi AS (previously Agder Energi, now merged with the Glitre company group). Transmission The transmission grid owner and operator/trans- mission system operator (TSO) is Statnett SF, which is 100% state-owned. Distribution Most grid companies are completely or partly owned by one or more municipalities; the follow- ing are at present the largest in Norway: • Elvia AS;
• Glitre Nett AS; • BKK Nett AS; • Tensio AS; and • Lede AS. Electricity Suppliers
Electricity suppliers are mainly private-owned companies, with some public ownership added to the mix. Fortum Strøm AS and Fjordkraft AS are among the largest in this category.
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