Curtailment for Large Energy Users in the South

Landsvirkjun has announced energy curtailment for large energy users in the South. The curtailment will start on 24 October, all else being equal. As in recent years, the reason is the deficient water levels of the reservoirs in the area of the river Þjórsá. Even though the summer in the lowlands was rather rainy, the same cannot be said of the highlands. It was dry and cold there, specifically in June and August, leading to limited ablation.

Even though our customers have been notified of the impending curtailment, it is still unclear how water levels will develop in the coming weeks. Heavy rain in the autumn could immediately improve the situation somewhat. Still, the groundwater level of the river Tungnaá is historically low, impacting the river's flow in the coming winter.

The curtailment would not have been necessary now if the electricity transmission system could have enabled Landsvirkjun to transmit sufficient electricity from other parts of the country. A case in point is the currently overflowing reservoir Hálslón at the Fljótsdalsstöð Hydropower Station. Furthermore, it is unlikely that curtailment would have been necessary now if the windfarm Búrfellslundur at Vaðalda was already in operation. Búrfellslundur is expected to commence full operations by year-end 2026.

We want to iterate that curtailment applies only to customers with agreements that include a curtailment stipulation when water levels at reservoirs are low. Landsvirkjun will honour all priority power supply agreements to large energy users and wholesale. The National Energy Company has never curtailed priority power supply in its almost 60 years of operations, and there is no indication that that will change in the coming winter.

Landsvirkjun’s priority is mainly to supply electricity demand due to increased general use for the domestic energy transition, to support the path to digitalisation and innovation further, and to support the development of current large energy users. Landsvirkjun has taken proactive measures, such as lowering sales to data centres by 50% to phase out cryptocurrency mining. Furthermore, the Company has made agreements with district heating plants for priority power supply, thus eliminating the need to use oil for heating during the curtailment period.