The electricity spot price: what it is and how it becomes your price
The spot price is the power exchange’s price for the next day. It drives variable contracts but is only part of what you pay.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The spot price (spotpris) is the price set on the power exchange’s day-ahead market, where buy and sell bids for every quarter hour of the next day are matched in an auction at 12:00 the day before delivery. Since 1 October 2025 each day has 96 quarter-hour prices instead of 24 hourly ones, and the price is the same across the whole bidding zone. The spot price is quoted before VAT, energy tax and grid fee. So 100 öre on the exchange board is not 100 öre on your bill: with energy tax of 36.0 öre/kWh, a 25 öre transfer fee and 25% VAT it becomes 201.3 öre/kWh. This site does not show today’s spot price, because it may not be freely republished. You can see it free in your retailer’s app or on the ENTSO-E transparency platform, then type it, or paste the whole day, into our calculator.
From spot price to what you pay
All-in price per kWh incl. VAT
176.3 öre/kWh
| Energy tax | 36.0 öre/kWh |
| VAT 25% | 35.3 öre/kWh |
| Spot with VAT, share of the total | 57 % |
How the auction works
Svenska kraftnät describes the day-ahead market like this: buyers and sellers state how much power they want to buy or sell for each quarter hour between 00:00 and 24:00 of the next day, and at what price. At 12:00 the day before, all bids are matched in a joint auction. For each quarter hour and each bidding zone the result is a price and a volume, and that price then applies to everyone who traded in that zone for that quarter.
The switch to quarter hours happened across the Nordic region at once. Energimarknadsbyrån wrote on 1 October 2025 that the price is now updated four times an hour instead of once, and Svenska kraftnät that 15-minute resolution now applies on both the day-ahead and intraday markets. For you that means 96 prices a day, or 92 or 100 on the days the clocks change.
From exchange price to all-in price
| Spot price | Spot with VAT | Grid and tax with VAT | All-in per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 öre | 0.0 öre/kWh | 76.3 öre/kWh | 76.3 öre/kWh |
| 50 öre | 62.5 öre/kWh | 76.3 öre/kWh | 138.8 öre/kWh |
| 100 öre | 125.0 öre/kWh | 76.3 öre/kWh | 201.3 öre/kWh |
| 200 öre | 250.0 öre/kWh | 76.3 öre/kWh | 326.3 öre/kWh |
The table shows why a zero spot price does not mean free electricity. The grid transfer fee and energy tax are fixed per kWh, and VAT goes on them too. When the spot price doubles from 100 to 200 öre, the all-in price rises by 125 öre but does not double. The calculator does the same sum with your real grid and mark-up.
Why this site does not republish the spot price
Day-ahead prices are computed by the power exchanges, which own the result. ENTSO-E, the association of European transmission operators, shows the prices on its transparency platform, but its free re-use terms apply to a listed set of data. Day-ahead prices are not on that list, so displaying them publicly needs the exchange’s permission. Several price sites show them anyway without stating any licence. We choose not to.
That is also why our historical figures come from Statistics Sweden rather than the exchange. Statistics Sweden publishes what retailers actually billed households each month under a CC0 licence; those statistics pre-fill the calculator and appear on electricity prices by month.
Using the spot price in the calculator
- Open your retailer’s app or the ENTSO-E platform and choose your bidding zone. If you are not sure which one, see bidding zones.
- Type the price for the quarter hour you care about, in öre per kWh before VAT. If the app shows it with VAT, divide by 1.25 first.
- To see the whole day, copy all the prices and paste them into the box under the calculator. Öre, kronor and euros per megawatt-hour are recognised.
- Choose your grid area and main fuse. The all-in price, the day’s lowest and highest price and the cheapest window appear at once.
Tomorrow’s prices work the same way; see electricity price tomorrow.
Daily averages, monthly averages and what the app shows
Many apps show a single number for the day. That is usually a simple average of the 96 quarters, where a quarter at three in the morning weighs as much as one at six in the evening. A variable monthly price, however, is weighted by when customers in the zone actually use power. If much power is used in the expensive quarters, say on a cold winter evening, the weighted price ends up above the app’s simple average, and the reverse when use falls in cheap quarters. That is also why Statistics Sweden’s monthly figures, based on what was billed, are better for comparing contracts.
The spot price also matters for state support. The government’s high-cost protection for 2026 applies if the monthly average spot price in a zone exceeds 1.50 kronor per kWh: a whole-month, whole-zone average, not a single expensive quarter. More in electricity support.
When the spot price goes negative
Sometimes the spot price drops below zero for a few quarters, when there is more power than anyone wants to use. On a quarter-hour contract that lowers your all-in price, but energy tax and grid fee remain. How far the price must fall before you are paid to use power is worked out in the guide to negative electricity prices.
Spot price, mark-up and contract types
How much the spot price moves your bill depends on the contract. On a quarter-hour contract you pay each quarter’s price plus mark-up. On a variable monthly price you pay the month’s weighted average plus mark-up, so the time of day you use power does not affect the bill. On a fixed price the spot price only reaches you when the contract is renewed. The retailer’s mark-up and fees are explained in mark-up and fees.