After the changes that were made in electrical energy laws in Iceland, individuals can now purchase from the company that deem the best and most practical. If you do not specifically ask for a change, then you still purchase from your current electric energy sales provider, however you can switch to a different company at any time.

Electrical Energy Environment Before the Changes:

Electrical energy buyers had to purchase electricity from the energy company which owned the distribution system where they resided. A user in the distribution system of HS Veitur hf, thus bought energy from HS Orka hf, whereas, for example, an user residing in Reykjavík was obligated to buy energy from Orkuveita Reykjavík. Until 2004-2005 electrical bills were not divided. Billing was thus all aspects including production of electricity, distribution and sales; therefore there was only one bill for all the costs.

Here was how the bill looked before the changes:

The Electrical Energy Environment after changes:

To ensure competition in electrical energy sales the electrical power companies were forced to split up their distribution systems as well as production and sales on the other hand. Distribution of electrical energy power is still privately run and is under the auspices of the Orkustofnun.

After these changes a user, for example, that are living in the distribution system of Norðurorka can buy electrical power from HS Orka hf.

Nonetheless, Norðurorku, the distribution company, will still collect fees for distribution and transportation of energy as before. After these changes, users, that is those whom change their electrical energy company will be sent two electrical bills instead of one; one for distribution and the other for the use itself.

Material partly from Orkustofnun webpage, www.os.is.