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In recent years, the Norwegian state has provided billions of kroner in electricity subsidies to households and holiday homes to mitigate the impact of high electricity prices. Over a hundred thousand companies have received these subsidies because they own meters used for household consumption. These companies are required to pass the subsidies on to households, but regulators are now checking if this is happening properly.

The energy regulator Reguleringsmyndigheten for energi (RME) will be auditing some companies in the autumn and conducting inspections. Several companies have been found to have registered meters on businesses, so households have received the electricity subsidies. However, they are required to pass on the subsidies to households.

For example, a wind farm owned by Hafslund and several Telenor connections has returned the subsidies. The Storting received electricity subsidies on behalf of employee housing, where representatives live for free, and they interpret the rules to keep the money. RME will not comment on specific cases but generally states that companies cannot keep subsidies meant for households.

Equinor also retains electricity subsidies for employee housing and is willing to pay them back, but believes a system needs to be in place for this. Six Norwegian utilities paid out 450 million kroner in subsidies to over 70,000 companies from January to November 2025. This is outlined in a RME overview shared with E24, first reported by the industry publication Energiwatch.

The electricity subsidies paid through companies account for 11% of the payments from the six utilities in the current period, according to RME's overview. Many of these meters are registered on businesses. The subsidies distributed through companies make up 11% of the payments from the six utilities in the current period, according to RME's overview.

Many companies tell E24 that they are not passing on the subsidies because they cover the entire electricity bill for those living in the homes. RME's senior inspector Torfinn Jonassen says companies should document that the subsidy belongs to the householders. This will be investigated more closely during the autumn inspections.

If companies have received unauthorized subsidies, the money can be returned to the state in three ways. First, if the setup of the subsidies led to some people receiving unauthorized subsidies. Second, if the system was established too quickly and utilities used existing systems based on consumption codes. Third, if there are oversights in the registration of these codes.

RME has oversight of companies that have received unauthorized subsidies. It has a complete overview of the companies receiving the subsidies but does not know if they have passed on the money to those who are entitled to it. The extent of the incorrect payments is something they hope to uncover during the audit. It could be several hundred million kroner or less, but they won't know until the audit is complete.

The government has reported that it has paid out more than 50 billion kroner in electricity subsidies. The 2022 subsidy was 26.4 billion kroner, 2023 was 16.4 billion, and 2024 was 3.7 billion. The first year of the Norgespris (October 2024 to October 2025) cost 19.8 billion kroner. The Norgespris and electricity subsidies are expected to cost around 28.4 billion kroner in the 2026 budget.

From 2022 to 2025, around 28 billion kroner in electricity subsidies and Norgespris were reported. RME does not have a complete overview of how much of this has gone to businesses. During the audit, RME is selecting several companies to find out if the money has passed to households as required. If they find that it hasn't, they can consider requiring the money back.

There are significant sums paid to businesses, and the government wants to ensure the funds go to those who deserve them. Therefore, it is natural for them to investigate this matter. It's not about catching 100% of the errors, but the amounts involved are substantial, and even a small percentage could be a significant sum. This is a complex system, says Jonassen.

They will consider publicizing the lists so people can check if the funds have gone to the right purpose. They need to complete this audit and summarize the findings by the end of the year.