Norwegian hydro follows an annual cycle. They get a certain volume of rain and meltwater each year, and they have to use it before the next cycle, or it goes to

Norwegian hydro follows an annual cycle. They get a certain volume of rain and meltwater each year, and they have to use it before the next cycle, or it goes to waste. The terrain is not suitable for the kind of massive reservoirs you may see in the US or Russia. There is often something like 5-10 TWh/year excess power they have a hard time selling. The big issue is that electric markets are not particularly flexible. It's no longer the 20th century, when people regularly burned fuels in easily adjustable plants in order to generate power. There is nuclear, which provides inflexible base capacity. There is cogeneration, where the demand for heat is seasonal and a corresponding amount of power is generated regardless of whether someone is willing to buy it. And then there are solar and wind, which fluctuate wildly and unpredictably and produce an ever increasing share of total power. Hydro is primarily used for filling the gaps. And if it was a rainy year and/or a mild winter, the demand for hydro, in places where it can be exported to, may not be high enough.