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; 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))
• 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 — customers ≤63 A / ≤43.5 kW are exempt. 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), 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; 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: ~155 DSOs — predominantly small and medium-sized — 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. Report due 30 September 2026. Supersedes Svk’s 2015 elmarknadshubb mandate, which was explicitly cancelled. (Source - Uppdrag Centralt Datahanteringsverktyg (2025), 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))
• 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 — methodology and data reporting

Ei implements förhandsreglering (advance regulation) through four-year tillsynsperioder (supervisory periods). DSOs submit financial and technical data via Ei’s KENT IT system (accepts XML or EIFS-specified Excel upload). The legal basis for RP4 (2024–2027) data reporting is EIFS 2023:4 (rapporteringsföreskriften) and EIFS 2023:5 (beräkningsföreskriften). (Source - Ei Handbok Intäktsram 2024-2027 (2023), Source - EIFS 2023-4 och 2023-5 Rapporterings och Beräkningsföreskrifter (2023))

Capital base valuation — normvärdering

The default method for valuing DSO grid assets in the capital base is normvärdering — each asset category is multiplied by a unit replacement cost (normvärde) from Ei’s normvärdeslista. The current list (RP4) was developed by Sweco in 2022 and covers eight categories: high-voltage cables, substations, control/communication equipment, relay protection, urban local grid (≤24 kV), rural local grid (≤24 kV), regional grid overhead lines (≥36 kV), and meters. The 2024–2027 normvärden are indexed to 2022 prices from a 2018 base (+10.42% via byggkostnadsindex 2018→2021). (Source - Konsultrapport Normvärdeslista 2024-2027 Sweco (2022))

The current approach is kapacitetsbevarande (replacement cost / forward-looking): assets are valued at what it would cost to acquire them today, not at their historical acquisition cost. For RP5 (2028–2031), Ei has indicated a move to förmögenhetsbevarande (historical cost / backward-looking) valuation — the approach used by the majority of European regulators. This transition would eliminate normvärdering as the primary valuation instrument. Both DFC Economics and Montell och Partners, commissioned as RP5 methodology inputs, explicitly endorse this move. Ei also intends to switch from a real WACC (with indexed RAV) to a nominal WACC with unindexed historical cost RAV — the approach consistent with majority EU practice and recommended by both reports. (Source - Konsultrapport Avkastningsmetoder Elnät Montell och Partners (2024), Source - Konsultrapport Return on Investment Elnät DFC Economics (2024))

Key clarification: the kapacitetsbevarande → förmögenhetsbevarande transition does not address the CAPEX bias favouring grid investment over flexibility. Both methods treat flexibility opex identically — it earns no regulated return. The separate fix is the TOTEX/lösningsneutralitet reform (ellagen 5 kap 12a§).

Flexibility service costs (§9.5.8)

Ei’s revenue cap Handbok (§9.5.8) classifies kostnader för flexibilitetstjänster as opåverkbar opex (uncontrollable operating costs), recovered at 1:1 actual cost with no efficiency deduction. The legal basis is ellagen 5 kap 12a§ (Lag 2022:596) and Art. 32 Dir. 2019/944.

Important precision: this 1:1 treatment is a Handbok interpretation, not stated in EIFS 2023:5 itself. EIFS 2023:5 §2 defines opåverkbar costs by exclusion list — and flexibility costs are not in that list. They are technically påverkbara under the formal regulation; the Handbok §9.5.8 overrides this in practice. (Source - EIFS 2023-4 och 2023-5 Rapporterings och Beräkningsföreskrifter (2023))

The product approval gate: EIFS 2023:4 §15(8) requires that flex costs be separately reported only for products with specifications approved under §11 Förordning (2022:585). Without prior Ei product approval, a DSO’s flex procurement costs are not separately identifiable — they remain in the general påverkbar cost pool and face efficiency benchmarking. The December 2025 LFM-h/p/e product approval (seven nätföretag) was the first activation of this mechanism. (Source - Ei Godkänner Marknadsprodukter Flexibilitetstjänster (2026), Source - EIFS 2023-4 och 2023-5 Rapporterings och Beräkningsföreskrifter (2023))

Despite favourable cost-recovery treatment, flex costs still earn no regulated return on a capital equivalent — the CAPEX bias remains operative until the RP5 TOTEX reform enters force in 2028. (Source - Ei Handbok Intäktsram 2024-2027 (2023))

Utnyttjningsgrads-incitament and justerad utnyttjningsgrad

One of the three revenue cap incentive components (alongside quality incentive and efficiency requirement) is the belastningsincitament — a reward/penalty based on how evenly a DSO loads its connection to the overlying grid. For RP4 (2024–2027), Ei replaced the earlier medellastfaktorn indicator with utnyttjningsgraden (Ug = Pmedel / Pmax,4: annual average daily load / average of the four highest daily peak loads), decided via PM2023:01. (Source - Ei PM2023-01 Incitament Effektivt Nätutnyttjande (2023))

The switch gives DSOs a stronger incentive to reduce specifically the highest peaks on the worst load days of the year — the hours that actually drive upstream capacity requirements — rather than rewarding uniform profile flatness across all hours equally.

Monetization: the incentive is priced against the DSO’s upstream subscription and connection costs. Ei’s empirical calculations across 21 networks show a typical magnitude of ±1% of intäktsram, equivalent to 40–174 SEK/customer/year per 1 percentage point for local networks (median ~75 SEK/customer/year). For a DSO with 100,000 customers, 1% intäktsram ≈ 7.5 MSEK/year. This creates an additional financial incentive to procure peak-shaving flexibility beyond the direct cost pass-through channel. (Source - Ei PM2023-01 Incitament Effektivt Nätutnyttjande (2023))

The renewable distortion and correction: new renewable production connections (wind farms, solar parks) mechanically lower Pmedel without affecting Pmax,4 (peak loads occur on cold, still, dark winter days when renewables produce little), worsening a DSO’s Ug score without reflecting poor load management. Ei allows a justerad utnyttjningsgrad (Ugjusterad) that excludes pure-production connection points commissioned from 1 January 2022 onward. Reporting deadline: 31 March 2028 (covering all four RP4 years simultaneously). Eligible points must be exclusively production facilities; mixed-use points (residential solar, farms with combined load/generation) are excluded from the adjustment. (Source - Ei Justerad Utnyttjningsgrad (2024), Source - Ei PM2023-01 Incitament Effektivt Nätutnyttjande (2023))

RP5 TOTEX benchmarking model (announced May 2026)

Announced 2026-05-29 (Source - Ei Benchmarkingmodell RP5 (2026)). Ei will use DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) — the same framework as the current regulation — with four structural changes for the TOTEX era:

1. All costs included except myndighetsavgifter: subscription costs to overlying/adjacent networks and network loss costs join capital and operating costs in a single benchmarking variable. Regulatory fees (myndighetsavgifter) are excluded — they are neither controllable nor substitutable.

2. Elområde price correction: subscription and loss costs are normalized to a common electricity price in the DEA model. SE1–SE4 price differences are outside DSO control; without correction they would create systematic cross-area cost disparities. Key principle: the normalization applies only in benchmarking; the efficiency incentive (in SEK) is applied to the DSO’s actual unreduced costs — preserving real financial incentives while enabling fair comparison.

3. Förläggningsmiljö installation environment correction: schablonized percentage deductions per soil cable type adjust underground cable acquisition values toward a “landsbygd normal” baseline. Urban and technically difficult terrain drive structurally higher capex that DSOs cannot influence. Same two-step logic: adjusted in benchmarking, incentive on actual acquisition values.

4. Ledningslängd added as structural factor: line length supplements number of substations (already in current model) as a structural control for customer density. More representative for sparse rural networks where line length matters more than substation count.

Production variable supplement: delivered energy at gränspunkter (connection points to overlying grid) is added to existing output variable (delivered energy to end customers at HV) — filling an identified gap in the current model.

This announcement resolves the previously open question (under investigation spring 2026) of how Ei would adjust the benchmark for structurally heterogeneous DSO conditions. Still open: maximum cap on incentive revenue impact; final beta parameter and peer selection for kalkylräntan.

RP5 methodology consultant inputs

Ei commissioned three analytical reports as input to the RP5 (2028–2031) methodology design:

The Termicum report also provides the formal economic grounding for the CAPEX bias: the Averch-Johnson effect — under capital-return regulation, monopolists systematically overinvest in capital because allowed return is tied to the asset base.

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

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

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).

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))

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. Full method published 2026; regulations in force H1 2027; revenue frame decisions by October 2027. 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))
• 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. Preparatory work for the formal Art. 19f target (required within 12 months of the first FNA, itself due July 2026). (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. (Source - Ei Regleringsbrev 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)

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).

Data gaps

• Innovation center activities and any sandbox decisions
• Maximum cap on the efficiency incentive’s revenue frame impact — not yet determined; under investigation spring 2026; candidate source: ei.se intäktsramar project page
• Beta parameter and peer company selection criteria for kalkylräntan — methodology consultation published but final choices pending; Ei RP5 final decision timeline unclear
• Future ställningstaganden — which regulatory areas will Ei cover next?