Bidding zones: SE1, SE2, SE3 and SE4 and why prices differ
Sweden has four bidding zones (elområden). What you pay depends on which one your local grid belongs to.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Sweden was split into four bidding zones (elområden) in 2011, SE1 to SE4, numbered from north to south. According to Svenska kraftnät, the transmission system operator, the split is needed so power can be carried from north to south without serious disturbances, and the borders lie where the national grid has structural bottlenecks. Within a zone the spot price is always the same. Between zones it differs when the lines cannot carry enough, and in practice the south has been dearer than the north: in 2025 the Statistics Sweden average for a variable contract for a house without electric heating was 38.9 öre/kWh in SE1 and 89.0 öre/kWh in SE4, before VAT. For a house using 5,000 kWh a year that gap is worth SEK 3,131 with VAT. Your zone is set by your local grid, not your county. Look it up on Nätområden.se, Svenska kraftnät’s map.
The same use in two bidding zones
Difference per year, SE4 vs SE1
SEK 2,669
| SE1, variable incl. VAT | 73.0 öre/kWh |
| SE4, variable incl. VAT | 126.4 öre/kWh |
Statistics Sweden’s latest monthly price, house without electric heating. Tax and grid are left out: they do not depend on the zone.
Why Sweden has four zones
Before 2011 Sweden had a single electricity price. Svenska kraftnät describes the split as a way to carry power from north to south without serious disturbances or damage to equipment. The borders were drawn where the national grid has structural bottlenecks, where transmission capacity limits how much power can be moved further south. Within a zone the price is always the same, based on supply and demand and on the transmission capacity between zones.
The numbering follows the map: SE1 furthest north, SE4 furthest south. The Energy Markets Inspectorate sums it up as four zones, with SE1 in the north and SE4 in the south.
Which towns are where
The borders follow grids, not municipal or county lines, and the authorities publish them as a map rather than a list. On Svenska kraftnät’s map at Nätområden.se, for example, the Luleå, Skellefteå and Boden grid areas are in SE1, Umeå and Sundsvall in SE2, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Uppsala, Linköping and Karlstad in SE3, and Malmö-Burlöv, Lund, Helsingborg, Halmstad, Växjö and Kalmar in SE4. If you live near a border, look up your own grid area.
The price gap year by year
| Zone | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE1 | 67.6 öre/kWh | 48.2 öre/kWh | 38.9 öre/kWh |
| SE2 | 68.0 öre/kWh | 47.8 öre/kWh | 38.7 öre/kWh |
| SE3 | 81.7 öre/kWh | 61.6 öre/kWh | 72.5 öre/kWh |
| SE4 | 98.6 öre/kWh | 77.8 öre/kWh | 89.0 öre/kWh |
The gap between SE4 and SE1 was 30.9 öre/kWh in 2023, 29.7 öre/kWh in 2024 and 50.1 öre/kWh in 2025, before VAT. SE2 sits close to SE1, and SE3 between SE2 and SE4. The pattern is not constant: in some months the price was nearly the same nationwide, in others the gap was large. The monthly series for each zone is on electricity prices by month.
Fixed prices differ between zones too
It is not only the variable price that follows the zone. Fixed prices are set per zone too, and Statistics Sweden reports them zone by zone. The table shows the latest month for a flat.
| Zone | Variable | Fixed 1 yr | Fixed 3 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE1 | 70.5 öre/kWh | 104.0 öre/kWh | 96.5 öre/kWh |
| SE2 | 75.7 öre/kWh | 102.8 öre/kWh | 95.2 öre/kWh |
| SE3 | 98.7 öre/kWh | 122.2 öre/kWh | 110.6 öre/kWh |
| SE4 | 113.0 öre/kWh | 141.3 öre/kWh | 128.1 öre/kWh |
So the zone gap shows in every contract type, not just the variable price. Moving from Luleå to Malmö puts you in another zone with another price level; check your contract’s moving terms before cancelling.
What the zone affects, and what it does not
- Affects: the spot price and so the price on variable and quarter-hour contracts, retailers’ fixed-price offers and the amount of the 2026 support.
- Does not affect: energy tax, which depends on the municipality; some northern municipalities have a deduction. See energy tax on electricity.
- Does not affect: the grid fee, which depends on your local grid company. Two households in the same zone can pay very different grid fees; see compare grid fees.
The review of the zones
On 15 May 2025 the government asked Svenska kraftnät to analyse the conditions for changing Sweden’s bidding-zone split. The assignment was widened in May 2026 and is due to the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise by 29 January 2027. A European review ran in parallel, and according to the Energy Markets Inspectorate it proposed no change to Sweden’s zones. If the borders do move, it will show in your spot price; we will update the zone pages if that happens.
The zone in the calculator
In the home-page calculator you pick a zone to get Statistics Sweden’s latest average variable price as a starting point. Once you type your own spot price, the choice no longer affects the sum, because your price already belongs to your zone. You choose the grid area separately: it sets the transfer fee and the fixed fee. The pages on SE1, SE2, SE3 and SE4 come preset with a large grid in each zone.