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For the first time, negative electricity prices were noted for a few hours. And overall, electricity prices during the year were clearly lower than normal, averaging eleven öre per kilowatt hour (kwh), which was 30 öre or 71% lower than in 2019, and also the most Low since 2000, according to Energy Companies statistics.
The background was warm weather, preliminarily the warmest year ever measured in Sweden, where especially the winter was unusually mild. This, along with the pandemic, has resulted in the lowest electricity use since 1984, according to Vattenfall.
Lots of wind and water
But also the fact that the water tanks have burst at the seams, together with a strong expansion of wind power, has caused a high supply of electricity and really depressed prices. This is despite a smaller nuclear power reactor (and another will be closed by the end of the year).
For the home, the consequence will be both low prices and reduced usage. According to the heating method, a residential customer has earned thousands of crowns compared to the previous year. For a homeowner with a more or less electrically heated house with approximately 20,000 kWh, a 30 öre lower electricity price means a saving of SEK 6,000 in one year. In general, the reduction in electricity grid prices at the beginning of the year also contributed to the warming calculation.
But even if all customers should have been able to discount lower prices, the differences are large. In southern Sweden, prices have occasionally been 3-4 times higher and, on average, double. Lots of water and wind in the north, less nuclear power in the south, and narrow lines in between have created these tensions and the ensuing political debate and dispute over who is responsible.
More sensitive systems
It is basically a more sensitive electrical system with a more climate dependent wind energy. Magnus Thorstensson, market analyst at Energiföretagen, takes Germany as an example, which has leaned towards more sun and wind. There, the price differences have been extreme, from peaks of 210 öre per kWh to just minus 88 öre per kWh.
And with less nuclear power, more wind and sun in Sweden too, the price picture is likely to be even more scattered in Sweden as well.
– With more unplanned production, it is a natural consequence, says Magnus Thorstensson.
It is for this reason that more and more electricity experts are emphasizing the importance of accelerating the expansion and improvement of the Swedish electricity grid. Because even if Sweden for more than a year usually has a surplus of electricity, it is not always enough when it is colder or where it is most needed.
Olle Lindström / TT
The various types of energy account for such an important part of the total electricity production in 2020:
Hydropower, 44 percent
Nuclear power, 30 percent
Wind power, 17 percent
Cogeneration, 8 percent
Solar energy, 1 percent
Source: Energy companies
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