The Energy Administration in Norway

Responsibilities of the Ministries:

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has the overall administrative responsibility.
• The Ministry of Climate and Environment is responsible for environmental legislation.
• The Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation is responsible for the planning legislation.
• The Ministry of Finance is responsible for power plant taxation, various taxes on energy and the State's expenditures.
• The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries has ownership responsibility for Statkraft SF.

Ministry of Petroleum and Energy

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has the overall responsibility for managing the energy and water resources in Norway. The Ministry's task is to ensure that the government's management is carried out in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Storting and the Government.

The Ministry has ownership responsibility for the state owned enterprises Enova SF and Statnett SF.

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy directorate (NVE)

NVE, which reports to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, is responsible for managing domestic energy resources. NVE is also the national regulatory authority for the electricity sector. NVE is also responsible for managing Norway's water resources and for the central government's tasks related to   reducing the risks offloods, avalanches and landslides. The NVE is involved in research and development as well as international development cooperation. The dorectorate is also the national expert body for hydrology.

Enova SF

Enova is a state-owned enterprise that manages the assets in the Energy Fund. Enova's objective is to promote a shift towards more environmentally friendly consumption and production, as well as development of energy and climate technology. See a more detailed description of Enova's activities on their webpages.

Statnett SF

Statnett is the state-owned enterprise responsible for building and operating the central grid. The enterprise is the transmission system operator (TSO) for the central grid in Norway, and owns more than 90 percent of it. Statnett is responsible for both short- and long-term system coordination, which entails responsibility for ensuring the instantaneous power balance, and facilitating satisfactory security of supply throughout the country.

The Norwegian Research Council

The Research Council of Norway reports to the Ministry of Education and Research. Its responsibilities include managing the ministries' appropriations for energy research. Among the ministries, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is by far the largest provider of funds to energy research and development within the Research Council's programmes.

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For a more detailed description of the energy administration, please visit our Facts 2015 Energy and Water Resources in Norway publication.