Power charges: what they are and what applies after June 2026
A power charge bills how much electricity you use at once, not only how much in total.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
A power charge (effektavgift) is part of the grid fee that is based on your highest load, in kilowatts, during a period, instead of or on top of how many kilowatt-hours you use. The Energy Markets Inspectorate (Ei) had required, in regulation EIFS 2022:1, that every grid company introduce power charges by 1 January 2027. In March 2026 the regulator was instructed by the government to repeal that requirement, and the regulation was repealed in June 2026. So there is no longer any obligation, but according to Ei nothing in law makes power charges unlawful, and grid companies that already have them may keep them. Energimarknadsbyrån writes that power tariffs will therefore not be introduced across the board from 2027. Ei must propose a new model by 12 April 2027. If your grid has a power charge, every kilowatt of your peak costs a fixed amount; the mini-calculator works it out from your own price list.
What does the monthly peak cost?
Power charge for the month incl. VAT
SEK 313
| One kW lower peak saves | SEK 63 |
| Twelve such months | SEK 3,750 |
| Peak in kW | 5.0 |
Price and measuring method are in your grid company’s price list; the values here are examples.
Energy and power are two different things
Energimarknadsbyrån explains the difference with a simple example: a 1 kW appliance used for one hour consumes 1 kWh. Energy, in kilowatt-hours, is how much power you used in total. Power, in kilowatts, is how much you draw at a given moment. A kettle has high power but runs for minutes; a freezer has low power but runs all the time. The grid has to be sized for the moments when many people draw a lot at once, and a power charge prices exactly that.
What happened to the power-charge requirement
- The regulator’s rule EIFS 2022:1 required every grid company to introduce power charges by 1 January 2027.
- On 13 March 2026 the regulator announced it had been instructed by the government to repeal the rule by 30 June and to propose a new model.
- In June 2026 the rule was repealed. No requirement remains, but no ban either.
- By 12 April 2027 the regulator must submit its proposal for a new design of power charges to the government.
For customers this means, in Energimarknadsbyrån’s words, that power tariffs will not be introduced across the board from 2027, but your grid company may choose to keep using them. Some price lists that already have a power component therefore stay as they are; other grids never had one.
How a power charge works in principle
The grid company meters your use and derives a load in kilowatts for the month according to its own rules, which is multiplied by a price per kilowatt. With a peak of 6 kW and a price of 50 kronor per kW before VAT, the charge is SEK 375 for the month with VAT; at 4 kW it is SEK 250. These amounts are examples. Your own price and how the peak is measured are in the grid company’s price list.
A worked example: bunch or spread
Suppose, as an example, that your grid charges SEK 50 per kW before VAT and counts the month’s highest hour. One weekday evening you charge the car at 11 kW while the rest of the home draws 3 kW. That hour makes a 14 kW peak and a charge of SEK 875 for the month with VAT. Start the wallbox at midnight instead, when the home draws 1 kW, and the peak may be 12 kW; cut the charging power to 3.7 kW and it falls to around 7 kW: SEK 438. The energy charged is the same in all three cases; only the rate at which it is drawn changes.
That is why slower charging over a longer time often has the biggest effect on a power charge. Work out your car’s charging time at different powers in the charging calculator.
A power charge and a quarter-hour price at once
With both a quarter-hour contract at the retailer and a power charge at the grid company, the two pull in opposite directions. The quarter-hour price rewards bunching use in the cheapest quarters; the power charge penalises doing everything at once. One way to satisfy both is to put large loads in cheap periods but not simultaneously, for instance the dishwasher early in the night and charging later. Work out both parts before setting the timers.
Households most affected
- Electrically heated houses, where direct electric heating or a heat pump with an immersion heater can create high peaks on cold days.
- Households with an electric car, where 11 kW charging while the hob and washer run can become the month’s peak.
- Households with a sauna or other large loads used for a while at a time.
A low-use flat with few large appliances is rarely affected much. On a quarter-hour contract it is tempting to put everything in the cheapest quarters, but with a power charge that can backfire if every appliance starts at once. Spread the loads.
Power charges in our calculators
The regulator’s standard cases, used in the grid-fee comparison and the home-page calculator, contain an annual total only when the tariff can be computed for the standard customer. For 2026, 136 grid areas have a flat price but 116 have one for a 16 A house and 115 for a 20 A house. Where the price is missing we show nothing rather than guess. If your grid has a power charge, use the mini-calculator above with your own figures and add the amount to the grid fee. The basics of the grid fee are in the grid fee explained.