Tariff/Charges

The grid tariff is a price list of charges for transporting electricity in the grid. It is a point-of-connection rate, meaning that the subscriber can access the entire electricity market regardless of where the actual input takes place. The network charge paid by the subscriber is independent of any other party with whom the subscriber does business. The cost of inputting energy for a northern electricity generator is for instance the same regardless of whether the consumption takes place in Northern or Southern Sweden.

Subscribers to the grid are charged for how they make use of the network. Svenska kraftnät estimates the usage by collecting measured values, and calculates the cost of use and foreign trade. Billing includes capacity fees, usage fees and the cost of subscriptions that have been exceeded.

Price list for national grid in 2023 (only in Swedish) (.pdf) Opens in a new window

Price list for national grid in 2024 (only in Swedish) (.pdf) Opens in a new window

Agreement to use the national grid

The usage agreement governs how much transmission capacity the customer subscribes to. The customer pays a fee for his subscription according to the grid tariff's capacity fee. The capacity fee shall cover the costs of operation, maintenance and utilisation of the network. The customer also pays a usage fee, to cover the cost of buying electricity losses in the network. The usage agreement is signed annually. In September each year the board of Svenska kraftnät decides the rate that will apply to the next calendar year.

Usage Agreement for 2023 (only in Swedish) (.pdf) Opens in a new window

The usage agreement also includes a general contract part: "General conditions" that can be found on our Swedish webpage.

The capacity charge covers the network costs

The capacity based part of the tariff is to cover the costs of operation, maintenance and the cost of capital for the investments made. The capacity tariff is divided into three parts:

• regular capacity plan
• temporary capacity plan
• excess charge.

Regular capacity plan

In Sweden electricity is mainly produced in the northern parts of the country and consumed in the south. The capacity charge is geographically dependent so as to reflect actual costs and to give the desired long-term control signals. The capacity charge for input is highest in the north, falling linearly towards the south. The reverse applies for consumption.

The capacity charge is stated per subscribed kW. The subscriber therefore pays the annual subscription fee as well as the capacity charge. The regular capacity charge is paid in advance with one-twelfth of the annual cost per month.

Temporary capacity plan

It is possible to apply for a temporary subscription in addition to the annual subscription. Temporary subscriptions refer to input or consumption in addition to the regular subscription and apply to one single week (7 days). Requests for temporary plans are submitted to Svenska kraftnät at least one hour before subscription start and cover the period up to 24:00 on the last day of the subscription. The application is submitted to Svenska kraftnät's duty engineer (VHI) and is granted subject to available network capacity.

Temporary subscriptions are in part charged by a fee equal to 1/200th of the annual capacity charge per subscription week and kW, and in part by a result-based fee corresponding to 1/500th of the annual capacity charge per kWh used. Svenska kraftnät may suspend temporary subscriptions that according to Svenska kraftnät's assessment may lead to network congestion. No remuneration or fee reduction for the Acceding party is payable upon such termination.

Excess charge

Subscription overrun that does not occur in the context of temporary subscription is not allowed. If it nevertheless occurs, the acceding party pays a fee per hour equal to 2 800 SEK/MW for the capacity by which the plan is exceeded, starting from the third hour of overrun in the same day.

For the first hour of overrun the acceding part pays a fee of 20 percent of the total excess charge, equal to 560 SEK/MW for the capacity by which the plan is exceeded. For the second hour of overrun the acceding part pays a fee of 50 percent of the total excess charge equal to 1 400 SEK/MW for the capacity by which the plan is exceeded. Paid fee gives no right to continue the overrun. However, if the overrun is due to reallocations caused by faults or operation diversions in the grid or by accepted regulation bid, the excess charge need not be paid.

Energy charges cover the losses in the grid

The energy charge shall cover the cost of energy losses in the grid. The energy charge is composed of two parts:

• loss coefficient
• price for purchasing energy losses

The loss coefficient

The loss coefficient is determined by network calculations, examining how the network's total energy losses are affected, when one additional MWh is fed into each connection point. If the loss coefficient is positive, the network's total energy losses are increasing by input and reduced by consumption. For negative loss coefficients the reverse applies.

Price for purchasing energy losses

Price for purchasing energy losses is based on the price that Svenska kraftnät pays to buy electricity to cover losses in the national grid. As from 1 January 2020, the price for energy losses is based on actual hourly market price per bidding zone with an additional supplement charge to cover risks.

The energy charge is the product of the above components. The charge is multiplied by the subscriber's actual energy flow. Depending on whether the subscriber reduces or increases the energy losses in the grid, this amount is credited respectively charged.

The amount corresponds to the product of the energy charge and the actual energy exchange. The energy charge is debited or credited monthly in arrears after clearing by Svenska kraftnät.