Today’s big topic: The government calls emergency meeting over urgent power grid plan
Climate, energy and utilities minister Samira Nawa Amini (R) gives her first interview about the Danish power outage, which the government will seek to address with an emergency package. Here, photographed in her office at the ministry.
What’s happening?
Denmark’s power grid — the very precondition for the green transition that is meant to deliver clean electricity for everything from electric cars to battery trains and the factories of the future — is under acute strain.
Energinet, the state-owned company responsible for the electricity system’s highways, has been caught off guard by the surge in demand to connect to the grid. That is why the new minister for climate, energy and utilities, Samira Nawa (R), is convening political talks on Friday about an emergency plan for the ailing network.
»We’re facing a dead-serious problem: capacity in our power grid has become a scarce resource, and it will be for many years to come. So even though everyone has one foot in summer vacation, it’s important that we start the political talks now. We need the ability to set priorities for who gets connected«, Samira Nawa says.
Why it matters!
Today, hundreds of companies are waiting in line to be connected to Denmark’s power grid. According to Energinet, together they are requesting around 60 gigawatts of new demand. That is the equivalent of eight times Denmark’s current electricity use.
However, some actors in the queue stand to take up an extraordinary share of the capacity. A planned new data center in Holbæk, for example, would on its own draw more power than the entire Municipality of Aarhus. According to the ministry, that same amount of electricity could supply 31,800 home EV chargers. But as things stand, Energinet is not allowed to let anyone cut the line, because everyone must be treated the same. This is something the government aims to change.
»We need to carry out this prioritization exercise, which we hope will result in a bill after the summer break. Energinet and the grid companies must be able to prioritize societal considerations. This might include families who need to have an electric vehicle charging point installed, as they are doing precisely what we are asking of them politically. It might also include Danish businesses that wish to contribute to the green transition«.
Still curious? Read the full article here.
In other news
– More than 15,000 Danes have bought at least one share in SpaceX
SpaceX went public on Friday, and since then thousands of Danes have invested in the American company. At Nordnet, 15,600 Danish customers hold at least one share in the company, the investment platform told Ritzau on Wednesday.
»It’s the culmination of a trend in which global — and therefore Danish — investors are most focused on what everyone else also has on their radar«, Per Hansen, an investment economist at Nordnet, told Ritzau. »AI, chips, and spaceflight have been in high demand, and SpaceX has a bit of it all«, he added.
– Danes worry about energy prices
Misleading marketing, overbilling, and payments that never come through. It is no accident that the energy market and the electricity business in particular has earned the nickname ’the Wild West’. More than 60 electricity providers are battling to supply power to Danish wall outlets, a competition that has exposed a string of scandals and illegal practices.
And it is energy and power companies that top the list of industries that cause consumers the most trouble and headaches. That is the conclusion of a major survey of life as a consumer in Denmark, conducted by the Danish Consumer Council. For 34 percent of respondents buying energy services, electricity, and heating is by far the most problematic area of consumer life.
– Tivoli opens Japanese-inspired universe and two new rides
After two years of work on the biggest renovation in Tivoli’s 183-year history, the amusement park is set to open in August the new area Hikari — Japanese for light — Tivoli said in a press release Thursday morning, according to Ritzau.
»When I took over as CEO in 2020, one thing was clear: The area that was called Asia had started to look worn out and needed some tender loving care after years of use. The area lacked a sense of coherence«, said CEO Susanne Mørch Koch. According to Tivoli, Hikari invites guests into »a street setting with Japanese-inspired architecture and gardens, set design, street food and original Japanese art, as well as two entirely new rides«.
Talk of town: New campaign aims to teach tourists to bike better
A group of American tourists, all on identical hotel bikes, are taking a guided ride around Copenhagen. »It’s wonderful biking in Copenhagen«, a woman says, before the guide gets the group back in formation.
Danes’ encounters with cycling tourists are not always trouble-free, because visitors can ride unpredictably, and dangerous situations can arise. Thirty-two percent of cyclists in Copenhagen say that cycling tourists are a traffic-safety problem to a »high« or »very high« degree. That is according to a survey conducted by the research institute Epinion for the Danish Road Safety Council after the 2025 summer holidays, based on responses from 565 Copenhagen cyclists.
The Danish Road Safety Council is now launching a new campaign aimed at making encounters between tourists and Copenhageners go more smoothly.
»After close dialogue with all the relevant actors — police, the tourism industry, the municipality — we’ve reached a shared recognition that there are challenges with tourists experiencing our wonderful capital on two wheels«, says Jakob Bøving Arendt, the council’s chief executive.
»Our new campaign is meant to help ensure that, after their bike ride, the tourist ends up in a hotel bed and not in the hospital, and that the many cycling tourists are also a good experience for Copenhageners«.
On social media, postcards, and posters, tourists in the coming period will be able to see and read that they should keep to the right on the bike path, avoid cycling during rush hour, raise their left arm when they stop, extend their right arm to the side when turning, that using a phone while cycling is prohibited, and that wearing a helmet is a good idea.
Still curious? Read the full article here.
This newsletter features stories originally published in Danish. AI was used to shorten and translate the articles into English, after which a member of the editorial staff reviewed and refined the content.