Lysaker, 22 January 2004 Nord Pool has received the following information from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE): The Norwegian hydropower reservoir levels dropped with 2.8 percentage points through week 3. As of Monday 19 January, the Norwegian reservoir level was 49.9 per cent full. Cold and dry weather led to lower influx and higher consumption than normal in Norway and Sweden . In Sweden, the reservoir levels ended up at 41.2 per cent full, after a hydropower tapping of 2.7 percentage points through week 3. The prices in the German spot market dropped with approx. 70 NOK/MWh from week 2 to week 3. This led to increased Nordic power import. Sale of transmission capacity between Denmark and Germany occurs often before the spot price is settled. Although, the power exchange's price signals show that power flow in one particular direction is profitable, power often flows in the opposite direction. Wednesday 14 January, the prices in the German market was mainly lower than in the Nordic countries. In spite of this, the Danish export to Germany was 19 GWh. The end-user prices continue to fall at the same pace as the development in spot and financial market . During week 6, the calculated average price for households with standard variable contracts is 0.375 NOK/kWh. ------------------------------- Contact person at the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate: Marit Lundteigen Fossdal, NVE, tel: +47 2295 9353