Ei

Energimarknadsinspektionen (Ei, the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate) is Sweden’s national regulatory authority (NRA) for electricity, natural gas, district heating, and district cooling markets. Based in Eskilstuna.

Role in flexibility

Ei is the central regulatory actor for distribution-level flexibility in Sweden:

• Revenue cap regulation (intäktsramsreglering) — sets the maximum revenue each DSO can collect. Currently applying förhandsreglering (advance regulation) since 2012: four-year supervisory periods (tillsynsperioder). The 2028–2031 methodology reform (see Source - Ei Inriktning intäktsramar 2028-2031 (2025)) will introduce TOTEX benchmarking to address the CAPEX bias (see CAPEX bias)

• Tariff oversight — approves DSO tariff structures; government assignment (March 2026) to repeal EIFS 2022:1 by 30 June 2026 (which had mandated time-differentiated capacity tariffs by January 2027 for all DSOs) and propose a new effektavgift model by 12 April 2027. Ei executed the repeal on 2026-06-17: EIFS 2022:1 ceases to apply at end of June 2026, removing the binding requirement that tariffs include an effektavgift from 1 Jan 2027. As a consequence Ei also repealed its ställningstagande Ei2025:06 (utformning av tariffer för överföring av el), which was grounded in EIFS 2022:1, and removed the related website vägledning. (Source - Ei Effektavgifter webb (2026)); effektavgifter remain permissible under Art. 18 EU Electricity Market Regulation and ellagen after repeal. The new model must be transparent, non-discriminatory, and proportional to customer size/need. Ei division head Tommy Johansson explicitly stated that fragmented DSO models are hard for customers to understand and hinder the development of automatic steering services — the first official primary-source link between effektavgift fragmentation and the demand response automation barrier. After repeal, DSOs revert to the general standards only: ellagen (skäliga, objektiva, icke-diskriminerande) and Art. 18 EU EMR (cost-reflective, transparent, customer usage-based) — a regulatory vacuum pending the new model. (Source - Ei Effektavgifter webb (2026), Source - Ei Effektavgifter Uppdrag (2026)). In April 2026, Ei simultaneously opened a formal tillsyn of effektavgifter design at five named DSOs (Ellevio, Göteborg Energi Nät, Bergs Tingslags, Södra Hallands, Tekniska verken Linköping Nät) — investigating whether existing models meet the ellagen requirements for objective, non-discriminatory, and reasonable terms, and Art. 18 EMR requirements for transparency and cost-reflectivity. Key clarification from Ei: there is no requirement to have an effektavgift, and no general prohibition — it is the design that determines compliance. (Source - Ei Tillsyn Elnätsavgifter (2026)) Ei also started work in April 2026 to amend EIFS 2024:5 on how grid companies publish their fees, with machine-readable publication as the central requirement (Source - Ei Offentliggörande av Elnätsavgifter (2026)).

  EU expectation runs the other way during the vacuum. The Commission’s April 2026 retail report asks member states and regulators to ensure network tariffs are cost-reflective and carry flexibility signals consistent with flexible retail contracts, explicitly because network charges are ~24% of the average EU electricity bill and rising with grid investment; it points to the C/2026/126 guidance on future-proof network charges as the design reference. Sweden’s repeal of EIFS 2022:1 removed the binding time-differentiation requirement at exactly the point the EU is pressing for stronger tariff-side flexibility signals, leaving the coordination the report asks for dependent on the replacement model due April 2027. Ei’s own stated rationale is not in tension with the EU’s — fragmentation is the problem in both readings — but the interim period has weaker tariff signals, not stronger ones. (Source - COM(2026)850 Retail Flexibility Report)

  The Commission had been citing Sweden as the model. C/2026/126 (9 January 2026) uses Sweden in two of its member-state practice boxes: the April 2025 four-component tariff plan with its new time-differentiated capacity charge, and the statement that “all DSOs will move to dynamic time-of-use network tariffs from 2027”, with the flexibility potential quantified at 1.2 million of 4.7 million households on heat pumps. Both describe the EIFS 2022:1 regime that Ei repealed five months later. The EU’s flagship example of the design its own guidance recommends was withdrawn by the member state before it took effect — worth stating plainly, since it is the sharpest available measure of how much the April 2027 replacement model has to carry. (Source - C(2026)126 Future Proof Network Charges Guidelines)

• Meter-value-access fee oversight (June 2026) — Ei concluded a separate tillsyn of the fees DSOs charge berättigade parter for access to a customer’s meter values. The fee must be kostnadsriktig — only costs directly tied to providing access, excluding inefficiencies, system/routine deficiencies, and other ongoing operations; included personnel cost must match the competence the task requires. Crucially, the fee must not be designed so it obstructs access to meter values or the development of efterfrågeflexibilitet. Of 8 DSOs reviewed, Jämtkraft Elnät AB was ordered to lower its fee (report by 30 Sep 2026); the other seven cases were closed, with Ei noting an ongoing DSO duty to review fees. This follows a March 2026 finding of large price differences. (Source - Ei Tillsyn Avgifter Mätvärdesåtkomst (2026))

• Injection charges and tariff design — EU comparative context — An EC-commissioned comparative study (Fraunhofer ISI, August 2025) identifies Sweden’s injection charge framework as a leading EU example: (a) ~16% cost recovery of total distribution costs via injection charges in the regional grid (>10 kV) — among the highest in the EU; (b) locational mechanism — charges based on distance-to-transmission × subscribed production capacity × unit price, plus a voltage-level component; (c) loss remuneration — producers at 130 kV who reduce losses receive payment; (d) small prosumer exemption — documented for one of the largest Swedish DSO areas, customers ≤63 A / ≤43.5 kW are exempt (implementation varies across Sweden’s 168 DSOs). Similarly documented for that DSO area: non-PHES standalone storage (batteries, not pumped hydro) is exempt from higher-grid-level subscription charges conditional on the DSO retaining operational control. From 1 January 2027 Sweden transitions to a hybrid cost allocation model: energy-based costs recovered by incremental cost method, capacity-based costs by forward-looking method, customer-related costs by average cost method, and residual costs by fixed fee. The study confirms that Swedish DSOs set tariffs without ex-ante NRA approval — Ei’s role is ex-post (tillsyn); this is the regulatory basis for Ei’s 2026 hemställan for förhandsprövning authority. (Source - EC Study Distribution Grid NDP Tariffs and Connections 2025)

• Förhandsprövning (ex-ante fee pre-approval) — in February 2026, Ei submitted a formal hemställan (legislative proposal) to the government to amend ellagen (1997:857) 4 kap. 46–47 §§ and add § 36a to Förordning (2022:585) om elnätsverksamhet, introducing a statutory duty for Ei to pre-approve DSO tariff methods for connection and transfer charges before they enter into force. The compliance gap is longstanding: Arts. 59.1a and 59.7a of Directive 2019/944 have required NRAs to pre-approve tariff methods since the predecessor directive in 2003. Sweden lost an EU infringement case (C-274/08, Commission v. Sweden, 2009) and subsequently introduced revenue cap pre-approval (intäktsramar) — but never extended pre-approval to the underlying tariff methodologies. ACER’s 2025 report confirms that Sweden and Finland are the only two EU member states where the NRA neither decides nor approves DSO tariff methods. Under current law Ei can only review tariffs ex-post via tillsyn — deficiencies can be corrected going forward but not retroactively. About 30 DSOs have introduced effektavgifter with potential design deficiencies (timing windows, level-setting) that pre-approval would catch before customer impact. The proposal removes the material criteria (“objective and non-discriminatory”) from statute and delegates methodology detail to Ei’s own föreskrifter — required by C-718/18 (Commission v. Germany, 2021) to protect NRA independence from legislative interference. Implementation is a two-step process: Step 1 (this hemställan) amends ellagen/Förordning to give Ei the duty and bemyndigande, with a target entry into force of 1 January 2027; Step 2 (after bemyndigande) has Ei develop the actual föreskrifter for the approval process — estimated at 2–4 FTE plus consultants and 1–2 additional years. Actual pre-approval will therefore not begin on 1 January 2027. Commission guidance C(2025) 4010 final (July 2025) reinforces the same direction: tariff methodologies must be transparent, predictable, and set or approved by the NRA. Government adoption of the legislative proposal is still pending as of May 2026. (Source - Ei R2026-04 Förhandsprövning Avgifter (2026))

• Flexibility market supervision — approves DSO product specifications under §10 Förordning (2022:585) (from 2027-01-01 the equivalent is 2 kap. 6–8 § of the elsystemförordning, Source - Elsystemförordning (2026-1522)), monitors market development, tracks redispatching reports. In December 2025, Ei approved the LFM-h/p/e standardized product set submitted by Energiföretagen Sverige — the first exercise of §10 approval authority (case 2025-102414; seven nätföretag approved). The three products (hourly availability, period availability, energy activation) are all upward regulation, with 0.1 MW minimum bids and two compensation models each. Network companies using flexibility services may now apply to adopt the same approved products. (Source - Ei Godkänner Marknadsprodukter Flexibilitetstjänster (2026), Source - Energiföretagen Förteckning Standardiserade Marknadsprodukter (2025))

• Network development plans (nätutvecklingsplaner / DNDPs) — Ei issues both a mandatory template and binding guidelines under EIFS 2024:1. The authority chain: Ellag 3 kap. 15 § delegates to government/Ei to prescribe DSO flex product specifications; Ellag 3 kap. 17 § delegates to government/Ei to prescribe DNDP content requirements; Förordning (2022:585) § 15 is the direct delegation to EIFS 2024:1; and Förordning § 14a (SFS 2025:272) gives Ei a statutory obligation to compile DNDP content and publish it on Ei’s website — the legal basis for PM2025:03 and the map visualization tool. (Source - Ellag (1997-857), Source - Förordning (2022-585) om elnätsverksamhet) (Source - EIFS 2024-1 Nätutvecklingsplaner (konsoliderad)); collects and publishes DNDPs centrally on Ei’s website (the 2027–2036 plans are reported through a new e-service opening 2 November 2026, Source - Ei Nätutvecklingsplaner E-tjänst (2026)); has the right to request amendments; conducting tillsyn (oversight) of DNDP compliance during 2025 — covering both submission and content compliance with EIFS 2024:1. Sweden has a biennial cycle with a 10-year horizon; next DNDP cycle requires submission by 31 December 2026 (starting the 2027–2036 period). Ei published a synthesis of the first round of DNDPs in Ei PM2025:03 (March 2025), covering 152 of 155 submissions, providing the first system-wide aggregate of Swedish DSO capacity forecasts, flexibility needs (277–1,030 / 640–1,883 / 1,387–2,523 MW), and adequacy assessments. Ei has proposed that the förordning om elnätsverksamhet be amended to give Ei bemyndigande (authority) to prescribe standardized structured data reporting for DNDPs — without it, aggregation is limited by inconsistent formats across companies. Ei is also developing a map-based visualization tool for DNDP data (IT development phase due 31 August 2025). Based on ACER/CEER’s EU-wide survey (2025), Sweden is one of only 4 EU countries (alongside Denmark, Portugal, and Slovenia) that have quantified flexibility needs in their DNDPs — though Sweden currently specifies only one direction, not both upward and downward. (Source - EIFS 2024-1 Nätutvecklingsplaner (konsoliderad), Source - Ei PM2025-03 DNDP Sammanställning (2025), Source - ACER CEER DNDP Guidance (2025))

• NC DR implementation — will develop national terms and conditions across ~7 domains when the Network Code on Demand Response enters force. From November 2025, Ei has been proactively designing the process that system operators (DSOs and Svk) must follow when developing T&C proposals — ahead of the regulation’s adoption. The process must be ready no later than 12 months after NC DR entry into force (expected 2026). Project leader: Yuri Joelsson (Ei). In early 2026, Ei is conducting a study mapping T&C process models from other European countries to inform the Swedish design. Sweden’s specific challenge: a large number of predominantly small and medium-sized DSOs (~130 per Source - Ei PM2025-03 DNDP Sammanställning (2025)) must all be meaningfully represented in a process that also involves Svk. Ei is in ongoing dialogue with Energiföretagen Sverige and Svenska kraftnät. (Source - Ei NC DR Förberedelser (2025))

• Centralt datahanteringsverktyg — from September 2025, Ei is the coordinating agency for a new government assignment to develop a proposal for a central data management tool for the electricity market (Regeringsbeslut KN2025/01781). Ei is responsible for submitting the legislative proposals; Svk participates jointly. The joint report (Ei R2026:08) was submitted to the government on 30 September 2026; the government has not yet decided. Under the proposal Ei would issue regulations on the tool’s functions and decide its maximum allowed revenue. Supersedes Svk’s 2015 elmarknadshubb mandate, which was explicitly cancelled. (Source - Uppdrag Centralt Datahanteringsverktyg (2025), Source - Ei R2026-08 Förslag Centralt Datahanteringsverktyg (2026), Elmarknadshubb)

• FNA supervision — Ei is the supervisory authority for Sweden’s Flexibility Need Assessment process. Participated in the tripartite FNA 2026 agreement (with Svk and DSOs via Energiföretagen). If Svk and DSOs cannot agree on a methodology point, Ei decides. Ei also enforces data delivery obligations. (Source - FNA Överenskommelse Svenskt genomförande 2026 (2025))

• Art. 6a flexible connection framework — Prop. 2025/26:16 (in force 1 January 2026) formally tasks Ei with developing a framework enabling TSOs and DSOs to offer flexible connection agreements in capacity-constrained areas; customers using flexible connections must install a certified power management system (effektregleringssystem); Ei may issue regulations specifying technical requirements and certification criteria. (Source - Prop. 2025-26-16 Forbattrad utformning av EUs elmarknad (2025))

• Operational-security supervision (from 2027-01-01) — under 15 kap. 1 § of the elsystemförordning (Source - Elsystemförordning (2026-1522)) Ei supervises compliance with the elmarknadslag and its föreskrifter and conditions on operational security (driftsäkerhet) of the national electricity system; earlier, part of this lay with Svenska kraftnät while Ei supervised several central EU-based requirements. Ei says its supervision in the area will increase. It also gains föreskrift powers on operational-security requirements (3 kap. 23 §; Svk holds the equivalent for automatic load disconnection, 3 kap. 24 §). Föreskrift revision programme: about 15 föreskrifter get new law references and terminology (early 2027), about 10 are revised in substance, and new bemyndiganden allow new föreskrifter (Source - Ei Nya Ellagar och Ny Förordning (2026))

• Villkorade Avtal oversight — classified them as non-market-based redispatching; receives annual reports from DSOs on their use; issued Ei2025:01 (Source - Ei Ställningstagande Ei2025-01 Villkorade avtal (2025)) clarifying which DSO level bears the obligation, that method approval is required before signing, and that activation requires a fresh per-dispatch assessment after gate closure (Source - Ei Villkorade avtal (2023))

Revenue cap regulation

Ei implements förhandsreglering (advance regulation) through four-year tillsynsperioder (supervisory periods), setting each DSO’s maximum allowed revenue (intäktsram) in advance. DSOs have submitted financial and technical data via Ei’s KENT IT system; from the March 2027 reporting round (which underpins the 2028–2031 decisions) reporting moves to Ei’s new e-service Neon, opening 1 March 2027 (Source - Ei Tidplan Ny Elnätsreglering 2028-2031 (2026)). The detailed methodology — capital base valuation (normvärdering, and the incoming kapacitetsbevarande → förmögenhetsbevarande transition), flexibility service cost classification, the utnyttjningsgrads-incitament, and the RP5 (2028–2031) TOTEX/DEA/MTFP benchmarking reform — is documented at RP5 Revenue Cap Methodology (2028–2031), split out from this page as a dedicated technical reference. See also Swedish DSO Tariff Reform — Three Parallel Tracks (2025–2027) for how this reform fits alongside the effektavgift redesign and förhandsprövning tracks.

Commissioned research on flexibility markets

In 2025 Ei commissioned Sweco to map and analyze all Swedish local flexibility markets — a follow-up to an earlier 2022 Sweco report. The resulting report (Source - Sweco Kartläggning av lokala flexibilitetsmarknader (Ei, 2025)) serves as Ei’s internal knowledge base for flex market supervision and as input to NC DR national implementation discussions.

Sweco’s ten recommendations address Ei specifically for four items (AP1):

1. Define redispatching and when each flexibility tool is permitted (traffic light model)
2. Clarify what “socioeconomic efficiency” means when comparing flex vs grid investment
3. Establish methodology for responsibility and cost allocation across grid levels
4. Investigate how “system operator” (NC DR concept) applies in Sweden’s multi-level DSO structure

Ei is also asked to issue clearer guidelines on what DSOs must investigate before concluding that Art. 13(3) exceptions to market-based procurement apply (AP2, Rec 6) and to develop standards for flex need forecasting (Rec 9). (Source - Sweco Kartläggning av lokala flexibilitetsmarknader (Ei, 2025))

Key Ei reports and documents on flexibility

• Ei R2020:06 — Kapacitetsutmaningen i elnäten (The capacity challenge in electricity grids) — first major report on grid congestion
• Ei R2023:03 — Innovationscenter och regulatoriska sandlådor — model for regulatory sandboxes
• Ei R2023:05 — Flexibilitet i distributionsnäten — evaluation of DSO flexibility use and Swedish pilots; identified CAPEX bias as a structural barrier
• Ei R2023:08 — Villkorade avtal — legal framework for conditional connection agreements
• Ei R2024:14 — Använda och fördela outnyttjad kapacitet i elnäten — using and distributing unused grid capacity; connection process and subscription requirements (not yet ingested)
• Ei PM2025:01 — Granskning av tidsåtgång för anslutning till elnätet — review of connection lead times at lokalnät (distribution) level; capacity shortage in overlying grids identified as a recurring cause of delay (not yet ingested)
• Ei PM2026:05 — Granskning av region- och transmissionsnätens anslutningsskyldighet — regionnät/transmissionsnät companion to PM2025:01; supervisory review covering 2023–2024 data at six regional DSOs + Svk; offer times 406–1,620 days; completion times 3–8+ years; 60% of Svk’s connections exceeded both the two-year limit and the customer’s own deadline; villkorade avtal essentially unused at this grid level (rules perceived as unclear; no company has method to evaluate non-reinforcement alternatives); Ei signals further supervisory work and possible rule clarification
• Ei PM2026:07 — Tillsyn av elnätsavgifter med en effektavgift; supervisory review of effektavgift design at five DSOs (BTEA, Ellevio, GENAB, SHK, TVL); all five models found compliant with current regulations; no orders issued; significant variation in design documented; two companies (Ellevio from June 2026; SHK from October 2026) decided to drop effektavgifter; Ei signals need for clearer framework and has begun new model development (proposal April 2027)
• Ei PM2025:03 — Sammanställning av innehållet i distributionsnätsföretagens nätutvecklingsplaner — synthesis of 152 first-round DNDP submissions; first system-wide Swedish aggregate of DSO capacity forecasts, flexibility needs (Tabell 7: 277–2,523 MW; Tabell 8: three companies by direction), and adequacy assessments; introduces Ei’s forward agenda (bemyndigande, map tool, tillsyn, next cycle 2026)
• Ei2025:01 — Villkorade avtal — Ställningstagande — first in the new ställningstagande series; four formal positions on when and how villkorade avtal may be signed and activated
• Source - Ei Inriktning intäktsramar 2028-2031 (2025) — Inriktning för reglering av elnätsföretagens intäktsramar 2028–2031 — consultation on the RP5 revenue regulation reform: förmögenhetsbevarande kapitalbasvärdering, 8-year WACC lookback, connection fee deduction, TOTEX efficiency incentives
• Ei R2026:05 — Utfallet av regleringen av elnätsavgifter (commissioned 29 Jan 2026, delivered 16 June 2026); the empirical case for the förhandsprövning/TOTEX reforms: household network fees +115% (2005→2026) vs CPI +49%; strong DSO finances (soliditet 46–51%, profit margin 16–23%, RoE 9–13%, all above elhandel/elproduktion); ~80 DSOs/yr give koncernbidrag (~20 bn kr 2020–2024, ~10% of turnover; Ellevio internal-loan costs 15.9% of net turnover); investment by level (transmission prognosis 2024–2027 ~24.5 bn kr, +85%); Ei will republish figures annually with named top-10 lists (dividends, internal-loan costs, profit margins)
• Ei R2025:08 — Information om klimatprestanda och flexibla resurser (March 2025); implements Art. 20a of the revised Renewable Energy Directive (2023/2413); proposes DSOs publish anonymized/aggregated demand-flexibility-potential data from installation records — found technically feasible, an active proposal — while publishing self-consumer/energy-community renewable-injection data is deferred as currently infeasible (would need a national metering data hub)

Demand flexibility initiatives and consumer tools

Energimyndigheten ER 2025:35 provides the most comprehensive recent description of Ei’s demand flexibility portfolio: (Source - Energimyndigheten ER 2025-35 Förbättra Flexibiliteten (2025))

EFFEKT-dialogen

Ei’s ongoing stakeholder forum for demand flexibility dialogue. Brings together DSOs, aggregators, energy companies, and consumer representatives. Recent themes:

• 2024: household flexibility conditions and network tariff design
• 2025: KPI study for demand response metrics; resulting reports and fact sheets to be published

The methodology behind this kind of structured engagement was worked out earlier: Ei commissioned DNV in 2021 to review methods for customer dialogue, interviewing seven regulators (Ofgem, CRU, ACM, E-Control, ARERA, AER and OEB) and five other organisations about how they run consumer dialogue. The report is regulatory process methodology rather than flexibility analysis, though it was motivated by Ei’s wish to understand customers’ drivers regarding demand flexibility. (Source - DNV Metoder Kunddialog Ei (2021))

Elpriskollen — smart steering/DR product comparison

Ei is developing new comparison functionality specifically for smart steering services and Demand Response products on Elpriskollen — Sweden’s official electricity price and product comparison tool. The new functionality will enable consumers to find, compare, and choose between DR services and smart steering products, reducing information barriers to participation. This extends Elpriskollen’s scope from pure price comparison to active flexibility market participation enablement.

DSO customer information requirements — EIFS 2026:8

The “under development” DSO information rules are now decided: EIFS 2026:8 (om nätföretags information till elanvändare), decided 2026-05-21, in force 1 January 2027. It is the DSO counterpart to the supplier-side EIFS 2024:2 and makes flexibility-oriented information a legal obligation:

• DSOs must inform users (web/app) about flexible electricity use via manual and automated control, and that market services exist for it (4 kap. 1 §), and place a mandatory link to Ei’s efterfrågeflexibilitet portal ei.se/kundflex on the invoice and website (4 kap. 3 §).
• A DSO that trades on a local flexibility market must inform affected users in the trading area on mina sidor and explain how to participate — without naming/recommending specific services or providers (4 kap. 5 §).
• Heavy effektavgift transparency: purpose/design explained; effektavgiftsgrundande mätvärden shown on mina sidor with a calculation explanation; weighted-average pricing on invoices; the meter’s öppet kundgränssnitt and supported dataprotokoll must be published (following Ei’s spring-2025 dataprotokoll tillsyn).
• Reworked after the EIFS 2022:1 repeal (Regeringsbeslut KN2026/00582): effektavgift/energiavgift now defined generically (form, not cost), no mandatory 4-component split. Legal basis: Förordning (2022:585) §§ 30/31a/33; Sweden gold-plates Annex I of Directive 2019/944 onto DSOs via Art. 18 EMR.
• Konsekvensutredning (dnr 2025-101516) quantifies the effektavgift backlash that motivates the rule: ~13% of households had an effektavgift (spring 2025), drygt 30 DSOs (early 2026), and 837 of 2025’s elnät-complaints were about effektavgift/tariff design. (Source - EIFS 2026-8 Nätföretags Information till Elanvändare (2026))

Ei innovationscenter (2024)

Launched in 2024, the innovationscenter serves as a first contact point for innovative actors — startups, aggregators, technology providers, and others — seeking regulatory guidance on emerging flexibility products and business models. The center develops a knowledge base from incoming questions, improving Ei’s understanding of market development needs and identifying areas where regulatory clarification is required. A potential stepping stone toward regulatory sandbox capabilities (cf. Ei R2023:03 on sandboxes).

A stepping stone followed with the 2026 regleringsbrev (government decision 18 December 2025): an assignment, under the EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act (Regulation 2024/1735), tasked Ei with investigating which net-zero technologies fall within its remit (the regulation’s list includes electricity grid technology, solar/wind power, batteries and heat pumps, among 19), identifying suitable regulations and policy areas for a sandbox, noting gaps and possible exemption/pilot clauses, and proposing how the sandbox competent-authority role should be designed, with a stakeholder reference group planned for March/April 2026. (Source - Ei Regulatoriska Sandlådor Nettonollteknik Uppdrag (2026))

Deliverable published June 2026 (Ei R2026:06): Ei’s final report identified two prioritized policy areas for net-zero regulatory sandboxes — connection/transmission capacity (today’s central electrification bottleneck) and hydrogen (no national regulatory framework yet exists). Ei’s institutional stance favors expanded guidance over actual exemptions, citing UK Ofgem’s experience (430 innovation-center inquiries, only ~10 resulted in exemptions) and its own innovationscenter’s ~50 inquiries since 2024 without a clear exemption need surfacing. Ei proposed a six-part national structure — a kontaktpunkt (suggesting Vinnova), a samverkansaccelerator of competent authorities convened by Accelerationskontoret, individual innovationscenter at each competent authority, and time-limited policy-driven sandbox calls — and pushed back on several elements of Vinnova’s separate, parallel May 2026 structural proposal (a dedicated coordinator role, a mandatory per-application workshop, and Vinnova’s proposed bar on appealing sandbox-application rejections). No EU implementing acts or formal Swedish “behörig myndighet” designation existed as of the report’s publication. (Source - Ei R2026-06 Nettonollteknik och Regulatoriska Sandlådor (2026))

Ställningstaganden — new publication series (2025)

In 2025 Ei introduced a new publication format, ställningstaganden (formal position statements), in response to stakeholder requests for clearer regulatory guidance. Each ställningstagande clarifies how Ei interprets a specific area of regulation; it summarizes applicable rules and states Ei’s view on how they should be applied. Can be updated when legal practice changes.

Ei2025:01 on villkorade avtal is the first. Key positions: the DSO bearing the physical constraint has the obligation; Ei must approve the contract-terms method before signing; activation requires fresh per-dispatch assessment after gate closure; agreements may only be signed where actual capacity shortage exists. (Source - Ei Ställningstagande Ei2025-01 Villkorade avtal (2025))

Network concession practice — 145 kV area concession (2026)

On 2026-06-22 (ärende 2025-103405) Ei granted E.ON Energidistribution a nätkoncession för område (area concession) in the Malmö region at a voltage interval of 82–145 kV, valid tills vidare and covering only mark- och sjökablar. The 145 kV ceiling departs from precedent — area concessions had previously topped out at 110 kV, and practice/förarbeten say lines at 145 kV should normally be tried as a nätkoncession för linje. Ei justified the exception by special circumstances (a delimited metropolitan area on mainly developed land, build-out only with cables) and the aim of faster, more cost-effective expansion than trying each line separately — shorter lead times and faster connections in a growing region. A condition requires E.ON to obtain Försvarsmakten consent where total-defence riksintressen are affected. This is a concession-form lead-time lever complementary to the connection-process reforms in DSO Connection Queue Reform — The Swedish Policy Response. (Source - Ei Beslut Nätkoncession 145 kV Malmö (2026))

Key positions

• Market-first: market-based flexibility procurement is the default; non-market methods require justification
• Elmarknadshubb: strongly recommends resuming the central electricity market hub (paused since 2020)
• Innovation center: establishing a regulatory guidance platform; potential stepping stone to sandboxes
• CAPEX bias reform: the RP5 methodology introduces TOTEX benchmarking — total expenditure including both capex and opex — creating lösningsneutralitet (solution neutrality) between grid investment and flexibility procurement. Preliminary method and draft föreskrifter due early November 2026; föreskrifter preliminarily in force 1 March 2027 (when the Neon reporting e-service opens); revenue frame decisions by October 2027 (Source - Ei Tidplan Ny Elnätsreglering 2028-2031 (2026)). In December 2025, Ei confirmed enstegsmetoden as the TOTEX application method; in May 2026, three further design decisions were announced: (1) no general efficiency requirement — actual cost outturns already embed industry productivity improvement; (2) full cost coverage at the third quartile (Q3), with a relative (moving) threshold following UK practice; (3) 8-year realiseringstid (realization time) retained. Benchmark adjustment methodology for heterogeneous DSO conditions published May 2026: DEA with four corrections (all costs including losses and subscriptions; elområde price normalisation; förläggningsmiljö schablonized deduction; ledningslängd as structural factor) — incentive applied to actual unreduced costs (Source - Ei Benchmarkingmodell RP5 (2026)). Still open: maximum cap on incentive’s revenue impact; beta parameter and peer selection for kalkylräntan. (Source - Ei Inriktning intäktsramar 2028-2031 (2025), Source - Ei Effektiviseringsincitament Webb (2026-05-12)) Importantly, the TOTEX reform is not a discretionary policy choice by Ei — it is the implementation of a statutory obligation under Ellag (1997:857) 5 kap. 12a § (Lag 2022:596), which requires that “när intäktsramen bestäms ska hänsyn tas till i vilken utsträckning flexibilitetstjänster används och förbättrar effektiviteten i nätverksamheten” — the revenue cap must consider flexibility service use. (Source - Ellag (1997-857)) FlexAbility (2025) adds an important qualification: TOTEX regulation must not penalize proactive grid building for future energy system needs — a purely cost-efficiency-focused benchmark risks discouraging anticipatory investments that society requires. (Source - FlexAbility Delrapport 3 (2025)) The TOTEX proposal is viewed positively by market actors in the FlexAbility interview study — seen as the right structural direction. Ei is assigned most responsible actor for resolving flexibility barriers in the FlexAbility workshop (spring 2025), jointly with Svenska kraftnät. (Source - FlexAbility Delrapport 5 (2025))
• Available-capacity information: DSOs must already publish quarterly-updated, geographically detailed capacity information for new connections (27 a § Förordning 2022:585, implementing Directive 2024/1711 Art. 31.3; from 2027-01-01 the rule is 6 kap. 6 § of the elsystemförordning, Source - Elsystemförordning (2026-1522)). In September 2026 Ei opened an early call for input (deadline 7 October 2026) on whether further föreskrifter or guidance are needed — capacity maps and level of detail are named as topics (Source - Ei Inspel Tillgänglig Kapacitet (2026))
• No premature national rules: defers to upcoming EU regulation (NC DR) rather than creating conflicting Swedish rules

2026 government assignments (Regleringsbrev 2026)

Ei’s 2026 appropriations directive (Regleringsbrev, Regeringsbeslut I:4, 2025-12-18, KN2025/02354+KN2025/02401; signed by Ebba Busch and Linnéa Carlén) contains several flexibility-relevant mandates. Total appropriation: 234.5 MSEK.

• Non-fossil flexibility target (Art. 19f EU 2024/1747) — Ei must propose Sweden’s national indicative target for non-fossil flexibility, specifying contributions from demand response, energy storage, and electricity production. Deadline: September 15, 2026. Report to Klimat- och näringslivsdepartementet. (Source - Ei Regleringsbrev 2026)
• Regulatory sandboxes (Net Zero Industry Act EU 2024/1735) — Ei must identify which net-zero technologies fall within its mandate and which regulatory areas could host sandboxes; propose Ei’s role as a behörig myndighet (competent authority). Deadline: May 20, 2026 (already passed). The Vinnova report (2024-03522, Feb 2025) proposes Vinnova as the national lead contact point, with Ei as one of several competent authorities in the energy domain. (Source - Ei Regleringsbrev 2026)
• Grid expansion annual reporting + map service — Ei must develop the regulatory authority (nödvändiga författningsförslag) to compile and publish annual Swedish grid expansion data and costs, plus a map service. Deadline: December 15, 2026. Ei’s report R2026:09 (dated September 2026) proposes two new provisions in the elsystemförordning, an annual duty for Ei to publish grid-expansion data and cost and a power to require grid operators’ geographic operating areas (proposed in force by 1 July 2027), and a first map version in January 2027 covering local-grid operators with area concessions. (Source - Ei Regleringsbrev 2026, Source - Ei R2026-09 Redovisning av Elnätsutbyggnad (2026))
• Bottleneck revenues analysis — Ei must clarify how flaskhalsinkomster may be used under current rules and whether socioeconomically more efficient alternatives exist. Deadline: October 30, 2026. (Source - Ei Regleringsbrev 2026)
• Flexibility dialogue in key regions — Extending the Norra Sverige pilot (KN2023/04607) to Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Västra Götaland, Skåne, and Gotland; dialogue on connection rules, subscription increases, and flexibility integration. Deadline: February 1, 2027. (Source - Ei Regleringsbrev 2026)
• Permitting reform — continue shortening grid licensing timelines with Lantmäteriet and county boards; priority for north-south transmission projects and high-social/climate-benefit projects. Deadline: February 1, 2027. (Source - Ei Regleringsbrev 2026)
• Price-hedging (prissäkring) measures — joint assignment with Svenska kraftnät (Regeringsbeslut KN2026/01425, 2026-06-25) to propose measures improving long-term price-hedging on the electricity market, including how long-term PPAs could let large new electricity users jump the connection queue if they bring matching new fossil-free production. Deadline: June 3, 2027. (Source - Regeringsuppdrag Prissäkring Elmarknaden (2026))

EU context

Ei acts as the NRA under the Clean Energy Package — responsible for overseeing DSO compliance with Directive Art. 32 (flexibility procurement), Art. 36 (storage ownership), and the forthcoming Network Code on Demand Response. Participates in ACER and CEER (Council of European Energy Regulators).

RfG revision (July 2026): the European Commission published a draft revised RfG for public consultation (closes 25 August 2026). Because Ei’s own planned EIFS 2018:2 amendments (remissförslag February 2026) cover overlapping ground, Ei has paused those national changes rather than risk double regulatory change, and is encouraging Swedish market actors to comment directly on the Commission’s draft. (Source - EU Commission Draft Revised RfG and Annexes (2026))

Data gaps

• Whether the government formally designates Ei (and which other agencies) as behörig myndighet for net-zero regulatory sandboxes, and whether Ei’s or Vinnova’s competing structural proposal is adopted — no genomförandeakter adopted and no decision made as of Ei R2026:06’s June 2026 publication
• Whether Ei’s tillsyn function is invocable by an FSP against a DSO’s decision (prequalification refusal, curtailment), not just by consumers over tariffs/fees — Ei does run a dedicated “Hinder för efterfrågeflexibilitet” (obstacles to demand flexibility) tillsyn channel and states DSOs “must not impose technical requirements or other conditions that impede demand flexibility,” which reads as open to any reporting party, but no documented case of an FSP (rather than a consumer) actually using it was found; see Network Code on Demand Response › Data gaps for the related Art. 49 appeals question