Government proposes NOK 72.3 million more for Svalbard

The Norwegian government has proposed adding NOK 72.3 million to the Svalbard budget as part of its revised national budget for 2026. The proposal was presented on 12 May. The money is meant for several purposes, and one of the measures is a special Svalbard price for electricity and district heating.

The price would apply to households and voluntary organisations in Longyearbyen. Svalbard Energi AS would receive a grant of NOK 9.3 million to deliver it. Under the measure, electricity would cost at most NOK 1.2 per kWh, and district heating at most NOK 0.6 per kWh.

Astri Aas-Hansen, the Minister of Justice and Public Security from the Labour party, commented in a press release. She said the government wants to keep encouraging Norwegians to remain and make their home in Svalbard, and she described the Svalbard price as an incentive to support the Norwegian family community in Longyearbyen.

She added that many people in Svalbard rent their homes and therefore have limited ways to make them more energy efficient. For that reason, the government proposes a district heating price, with the aim that heating a home in Longyearbyen costs no more than it does on the mainland.

A further NOK 30 million would go to Svalbard Energi AS, because of the general rise in diesel prices. The revised budget also contains other Svalbard-related allocations, but the article text available introduces that list without giving its items.

Correction, 27 October 2026: an earlier version gave the maximum electricity price as NOK 1.3 per kWh. The government's proposal gives NOK 1.2.