Electricity in February cost on average 1.04 kronor per kilowatt hour (kWh) in southern Sweden (zone four), according to the Nord Pool electricity exchange.
The last time prices were close to that was in June 2023, where they were slightly lower at 1.03 kronor per kWh, and the last time prices were higher was at the end of 2022.
Most Swedes have flexible electricity contracts based on the monthly price, meaning many will be paying close attention to the monthly average.
In zone three, which covers large parts of central Sweden including the cities of Stockholm, Uppsala, Västerås and Örebro, the average price for February was under one krona, at 77 öre per kWh, although this was still the highest price since January 2024.
Households in Norrland (zones one and two) saw the cheapest prices by far, paying between 13 and 15 öre per kWh in February.
There are, however, signs that people in the rest of Sweden can look forward to cheaper prices in the future. Prices have dropped in the last few weeks, due in part to the arrival of warmer spring weather, as well as more water than normal in Swedish reservoirs and lower gas prices elsewhere in Europe.
The price of gas is now ten percent lower than at the beginning of the year, and Nordic nuclear power plants are all working at full capacity.
And that's not all ‒ the days are getting longer and the sun is getting higher in the sky, which affects both supply and demand.
"We're entering a period where usage is falling while solar power is starting to come into play, pushing down prices around lunchtime and into the afternoon, just like last year," analyst Johan Sigvardsson from Bixia electricity company told the TT newswire.
Prices on the Nasdaq energy market have also fallen in recent weeks and are showing an average Nordic energy price of 25 öre per kWh for the second quarter of this year.
Consumer prices will be higher than that ‒ that figure is excluding energy tax, VAT and the energy network fee, which all add up to over one krona per kWh ‒ and prices in southern Sweden are usually higher still, but it looks like prices will still be significantly lower than they have been so far this year.
Comments