Although the price differences between the country’s various electricity areas have been evened out, customers in the south of Sweden are still forced to pay significantly more than those in the north for their electricity.
In the southern electricity area, the electricity price this summer has been at least twice as high as in the rest of the country. And many southern Swedes are now asking themselves how long the injustice will be allowed to continue.
One of those affected is the pizza baker Hamid Tahvildar in Malmö, who would like to replace his oven with a more energy efficient one. But it is too big an investment for his small company because today he has high electricity bills:
– I am surprised and sad. Why do I have to pay such a high price when you are a small business owner, says Hamid Tahvildar.
Pays twice as much as the rest of Sweden
Today, he pays at least twice as much for electricity as colleagues in northern and central Sweden. In July, for example, the average spot price in electricity areas one and two was 20.6 öre per kilowatt hour. Even in electricity area three, the prices have approached northern Sweden – while electricity area four, i.e. southern Sweden, stands out with its 43.3 öre per kilowatt hour. And now in August, the difference is expected to be even greater.
– You can compare it to the fact that if we in Stockholm had a petrol price of SEK 18, then in southern Sweden we would pay SEK 60 per liter for the petrol.
“Time to abolish the electric areas”
That’s what Bengt Ekenstierna, who previously, among other things, was a senior manager at EON, thinks it’s time to abolish the electricity areas and introduce a different model for the pricing of electricity.
– The pricing model that worked 30 years ago does not work under the new conditions. This means that when we export electricity to the south, to Germany, Poland, the Baltics, we import their high electricity prices to Sweden, he says.
And Hamid Tahvildar doesn’t think it’s fair.
– I have many friends who live in the countryside who have pizzerias and restaurants and who only pay half the price, he says.