In August, the daily records have replaced each other on the electricity price exchange Nordpool. But it is the monthly average that is interesting for the absolute majority of households.
– It was a record in both electricity areas 3 and 4. Previous price records were from December last year, says Björn Björnson, electricity price analyst at the electricity trading company Godel.
For area 4 (southern Götaland), the average price for August, with only a few days left in the month, looks set to end up at almost three kroner per kilowatt hour (kWh).
– It is just over a crown higher than the previous record, says Björnson.
In electricity area 3 (northern Götaland and Svealand), the average price in August is just over two kroner per kWh. It is almost 30 öre higher than the old record.
Half drive in motion
And fewer and fewer households escape the rampant electricity prices. Just over half of all households have variable electricity prices, in southern Sweden two-thirds, according to recent statistics from Statistics Norway. And the longer time goes by, the more Swedes are thrown into the grim price reality when the old fixed electricity contracts expire. Fixing the electricity price today is very expensive and Statistics Norway’s figures also show that the proportion with variable price agreements is steadily increasing.
The differences between northern and southern Sweden are large. Including taxes, VAT, the electricity company’s mark-up and grid charge, the difference becomes smaller. This is mainly due to the relatively expensive network charge which, with some regional differences, is approximately the same throughout the country. For a Skåne consumer, the average price is SEK 4.70 per kWh, including everything. The corresponding consumer price in the previous record month of December 2021 was SEK 3.40. In northern Norrland, the corresponding August price will be SEK 1:28/kWh.
Locked in Norrland
But the coming months are going to be all the bloodier. Price, and also consumption, are expected to rise when the cold comes. This shows the pricing on the electricity market ahead of winter.
– Not much suggests that it will be cheaper, rather the opposite, says Björn Björnson.
The factors are known at this point, transmission problems of electricity within Sweden, and sky-high gas prices, which directly affect the price of electricity on the continent and infect the price picture in southern Sweden. August was also particularly affected by various maintenance.
– Both maintenance of the electricity system and nuclear power, which contributed extra to electricity being locked in in the north, says Björnson.