politics
What happens if the power goes out?
“We Must Set Tough and Quick Priorities”
Bodø, Northern Norway (High North News): What happens to the residents of an Arctic city if the power is out for an extended period? In Bodø, Northern Norway, there are concerted efforts to have systems in place in order to follow the government's recommendation: Be prepared for crisis and war.
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The airport is closed for all passenger traffic. Only military flights can take off and land. The checkout at the grocery store only has enough power for 40 minutes before having to shut down.
All buildings without wood heating become cold and dark.
Only the matches of the Football Team Bodø/Glimt will continue as before, because "the UEFA has stricter requirements for power supply than Bodø municipality," according to the football club itself.
This is the scenario in the event of a prolonged power outage in Bodø.
"Yes, in the event of a prolonged power outage, it will quickly become dark and cold," confirms Bodø municipality's Head of Security, Anne Olsen.
Not everything can be kept running
Crisis and war
Recently, the Bodø business sector met for dialogue on preparedness in the event of a prolonged power outage. In the Total Preparedness Year 2026, the authorities' recommendations are clear:
Be prepared for crisis and war.
Bodø Business Forum organized this year's first professional forum for security and preparedness, which is a newly established forum to strengthen interaction between the business sector, public players, and preparedness groups in Bodø, Northern Norway. This is one of the first forums of its kind among Norwegian business associations.
On stage were representatives from the municipality, aviation, health, police, and business.
Prioritizing health
Anne Olsen from the municipality explains that a prolonged power outage has the second-highest total impact on the municipality and is one of the most important input factor.
But a lot can go wrong in the Arctic, such as snow and slush avalanches, extreme weather, and nuclear incidents. And sabotage from hostile states.
"Not everything can be kept running, and we must set tough and quick priorities. Extended power outages require more people and not everything can run on generators. We probably cannot keep all schools and kindergartens open either," says Olsen, adding that life and health are the top priorities.
Need for information
When the crisis becomes a reality, an extreme need for information also arises among the population, such as during the pandemic.
How do you solve communication and the need for information without power?
"We are planning several meeting points operated by the municipality. A place where people can meet physically to get information or report a need for health assistance. We are a large municipality where people are spread out, so we are currently mapping which existing premises could be suitable for use. We also have satellite phones, but we need to consider whether that is sufficient in the scenarios we are envisioning, as the threat and risk landscape is changing rapidly," says the head of security.
Russia, China, and Iran
A representative from the Police Security Service (PST) states that Norway is facing a complex threat landscape with a serious backdrop, where the threat from state actors is considered serious.
"Russia, China and Iran constitute the biggest threats in 2026," says Daniel from PST, who only operates with a first name.
And Russia effectively adapts its intelligence methods to Norway and NATO countries.
"We expect increased Russian intelligence activity due to increased military activity, especially in the North. But primarily, Russia wants to influence Norwegian deliveries to Ukraine by affecting Norwegian opinion formation."
Weaken Ukrainian support
In other words, Russia aims to weaken the support for Ukraine among the Norwegian people, and our aggressive neighbor conducts targeted and disruptive intelligence activity to achieve that aim. It is about identifying vulnerabilities and striking where society is at its weakest.
"Russia's intelligence targets can be individuals with valuable information, who have personal value, knowledge, or are placed in a position that provides access to important people. Russian intelligence targets businesses with interesting technology, infrastructure and value chains of interest, as well as strategically placed properties and access to decision-makers," says the PST representative.
At the same time, Russia's room for action is limited, and Norway has declared several Russian intelligence officers unwelcome in the country.
"We have made it more difficult for Russia, but this increases their willingness to act and they are no longer afraid of being caught. Russia will likely also increase its presence through new diplomats and the recruitment of new sources. These could also be visitors from third countries," warns Daniel.
It could be Ukrainians in Norway who are promised rewards
Not a priority
The representative also points out that Ukrainian refugees may be exposed to Russian intelligence, especially those with family and property in Russian-occupied areas.
"It could be Ukrainians in Norway who are promised rewards or who consider that the war is heading towards a Russian victory."
At the same time, we learn that Norway is not a prioritized intelligence target in terms of Ukraine.
"There were many examples of sabotage against deliveries to Ukraine in Europe last year, but the threat of sabotage against Norway is persistent. The Norwegian people and businesses must be aware of the danger of sabotage to, for example, payment solutions, goods reception, infrastructure, and digital services."
Chinese threat
From a long-term perspective, Chinese intelligence is increasing, and Chinese commercial actors can perform services on behalf of the government. PST informs that China's access to the High North is restricted, but they continue to try to gain access to the education sector as a way in for covert operations.
The PST assesses that the High North and Bodø are particularly exposed to intelligence and threats, including because the new NATO centre (CAOC), which was recently decided to be located in Bodø instead of outside the city.
"The greater the values, the more attractive to Russia."
No emergency lights
With three years left until Bodø's new airport is ready, the current airport will also be without emergency landing lights for just as long. Why? Because no Arctic airports are considered large enough to have UPS systems for the runway lights.
A UPS ensures a continuous supply of electrical power to the runway lights, even if the main power supply fails. This prevents a runway blackout.
If the power goes out, all passenger traffic stops and only military aircraft can take off and land. In fact, there are no emergency landing lights north of Trondheim.
"We are only required to have two power sources. That is a generator and support from Arva (Northern Norway's largest grid company. Editor's note)," says the airport manager at Bodø airport, Daniel Østensen.
"Satellite-based landing systems are not a requirement," says Østensen, explaining that both Bodø and Tromsø airports belong to category C, and thus not among the largest airports.
Must have open airports
So what does a closed airport do with acute health situations?
There are only four hospitals across the Northern Norwegian region, spread across half a million widely dispersed residents in 20 municipalities, many of whom live in sparsely populated and remote areas.
"11 municipalities depend on flights to get to the hospital. We need open airports," states emergency preparedness manager Janne Sofie Øiesvold at the Nordland Hospital Trust.
Not packing up
In the event of a power outage, the Nordland Hospital must manage on its own and have self-preparedness for seven days, something that was put in place as early as 2024, two years before the rest of the country, precisely because the High North are considered strategically important.
"We must offer services where people are. We are not packing up. But power outages are critical for the Nordland Hospital when everything stops, including life-supporting technology. We cannot operate without electricity or water," says Øiesvold.
The fact is that the hospital needs 150,000 litres of water a day. This is more than the annual consumption for an average Norwegian household, and enough to fill a large swimming pool.
"We cannot store this amount of water, but we must have good plans. And in the event of a power outage, we must have 100 percent uptime. This entails a steady supply of diesel to run the generators."
After that, we have to close
She dismisses the need to stockpile medicines, and that the hospital has manual systems for this, together with the pharmacies.
Do not accept cash
Fresh food may become more difficult to attain if the power goes out.
The grocery chain Coop Nordland has systems in place to handle a power outage for one day. But the cash registers will only function for a maximum of 40 minutes.
"After that, we have to close," says operations manager Geir Inge Enge at Coop Nordland.
No generator agreement
And since Coop has not succeeded in landing an agreement for renting generators in the event of a power outage, they must borrow from Arva after the crisis has occurred.
"No one wants to be the main supplier of generators," explains Enge.
Only Coop Værøy has its own generator, out of 23 stores in Nordland.
Will find a solution
When the store closes, refrigerated and frozen goods are secured, but the stores are not allowed to give these goods away for free, even if they do not have a payment solution. This is due to the increase in temperature.
"But we can keep people alive for a long time with dry food!"
We are asked to have cash for emergencies. Why can't Coop accept cash in the event of a power outage?
"We will find a solution to this with payment via cash. We would have to go back to the old way, with counting and calculating," answers Enge.
Warns against hoarding
Enge also warns against hoarding.
"During the pandemic, goods were gone in two hours. We have learned from that, and will have rationing of goods."
Whether food will even reach Northern Norway in a crisis with the infrastructure we have today is uncertain.
Houses without heating
A month and a half ago, parts of Bodø experienced a power outage that darkened the city and the airport. It doesn't take long before the cold creeps into apartment blocks without wood heating.
In hindsight, was it sensible to continue building houses without wood heating Should this be a requirement for developers?
"I will not comment on the technical aspects of building," says the Head of Security in Bodø municipality, Anne Olsen.
"Instead, we must take into consideration that this is how buildings are built now, and prepare for that. If you live in a place without wood heating, you should have other options for keeping warm. Housing associations may have their own preparedness plan and there is a guide for housing associations online, which I recommend to everyone," says Olsen.
She says that the municipality is very aware of possible challenges due to demographics and the way people live.
"This means that we need to have a broader perspective on residents who may become vulnerable in various situations. The older people get, the greater the need for a preparedness buddy. The point is that everyone must take responsibility, also for each other," concludes Olsen.
