– No matter what word they use, whether it’s understandable or not, it’s the amount left in the account when the electricity bill is paid that matters. It is our reality.
That’s what Lisa Mari Systad said just before the prime minister presented the government’s changes to the electricity subsidy on Wednesday evening.
After the presentation, she was not much more convinced by what the government had to come up with.
Bill of over NOK 20,000
The Systad family is the largest family with children. Both parents have permanent jobs. Both have an average Norwegian income.
Nevertheless, they feel that the money does not stretch as far as before.
This leads to both stress and a bad conscience.
– We are at the breaking point for what we can manage financially. We have four children and it costs money. The 1,000 Swedish kroner we used to be able to spend at the cinema or climbing park, they have disappeared. When the kids ask if we can do something, we have to say no, she says, looking away at her eldest daughter.
DEMANDING WEEKDAY: Like many other families with children, the family with children at Flaktveit also spends a lot of time and energy making the weekday go by. Photo: Mathias Kleiveland / TV 2
– For us, it is simply time-consuming and it takes a lot of capacity to fool around from day to day and week to week. What do we get, do we get anything at all, how long does the arrangement last?
The mother of four is clear that the period of high electricity prices has sometimes been difficult.
December in particular was demanding. At a time when Christmas presents have to be bought and you want to be able to afford some extra food for both young and old, the family waited a long time to get a utility bill of around NOK 20,000.
Fortunately, electricity prices fell in mid-December. The bill was still NOK 16,000.
In the meantime, there have also been interest rate increases and food has become more expensive.
– The salary is not much, she says.
– There are people who have it worse
But then her hope was that the government would bring good news when they called for a press conference about the electricity subsidy.
Systad was satisfied with some of the things that appeared in the prime minister’s presentation.
The extension of electricity support until 2024 was a small glimmer of light for Lise Mari. She believes that it can give families with children like themselves some breathing space.
– There is something about predictability. The fact that we know we will get support both this year and next year is important. For us, it means that we can lower our shoulders a little, she says.
But she is not satisfied with the way the situation has turned out.
– Many have reported that they are struggling, that things are not going well. Considering that we have two stable incomes, we are actually among the lucky ones, she says.
The fact that one has to wait all the way until September, she understands very little.
For her part, it is important that the government gets on track quickly once they have launched the changes they are going to implement.
– They know that people need help. There are many out there who have it worse than us. Nevertheless, they must now sit month after month and wait for the changes to take effect. I don’t understand that.
Feel the disappointment
Following the presentation was like a little roller coaster at home on the sofa at Flaktveit.
Lise Mari felt a sense of joy when the government now promised that the scheme will be extended until 2024 and that a larger share of the electricity will be covered throughout the year.
TURBULENT: It was almost like a roller coaster to follow the presentation of the changes in the current support. Photo: Mathias Kleiveland / TV 2
But the fact that they had to wait over half a year before something happened, it exceeded the little joy she had felt just a few minutes earlier.
– The joy of “yes, now something is happening” it disappears a bit again when nothing happens until September. There is still a while. There are seven months to go. It’s been a long time, she says.
She feels disappointed that the predictability is disappearing.
When there is more than half a year to go, there may be changes in what has been promised. Both in a positive and negative sense.
For her and her family, the next seven months will continue to be marked by unrest, stress and worry.
– Now I was disappointed again. Now we are back to uncertainty. The most visited apps this year must be the streaming companies. We have a lot of other things we could rather spend our time and worries on.
