Elmarknadslagen

The Elmarknadslag (Electricity Market Act) is the new Swedish law regulating the electricity market’s function. Together with a companion lag om elektriska ledningar (act on electric lines) it replaces the 1997 ellagen (1997:857) — the most significant structural reform of Swedish electricity law since 1997. It was adopted by the Riksdag on 15 June 2026 (Prop. 2025/26:240, Betänkande 2025/26:NU25), promulgated 18 June 2026 as SFS 2026:1281 (companion: Lag (2026:1283) om elektriska ledningar), and enters into force 1 January 2027 (the leveransskyldig sistahandsleverantör provisions and the abolition of anvisade elavtal on 1 July 2027).

The two-law split

The 1997 ellagen is formally repealed and its content divided:

A further 17 acts that referenced the ellagen are consequentially amended. The split separates the rules for the market from the rules for the physical infrastructure. Both laws were utfärdade 18 June 2026 and enter into force 1 January 2027.

Terminology modernised to EU alignment. Two renamings are notable: nätföretag becomes systemansvarig — emphasising that a company running nätverksamhet also holds a system responsibility, not merely line ownership (exception: companies with only a linjekoncession and a single connected in-group customer); and transmission becomes överföring (so transmission companies such as Svenska kraftnät, and Baltic Cable AB, are systemansvariga för överföringssystem, while DSOs are systemansvariga för distributionssystem, and överföring av el becomes transport av el). (Source - Ei Nya Ellagar och Ny Förordning (2026)) New statutory definitions (1 kap. 5 §) include aggregering, aggregeringstjänst, efterfrågeflexibilitet, dynamiska elpriser, delad el, and distributionssystem.

Origin and passage

The law derives from the Elmarknadsutredningen (SOU 2025:47, Bo Diczfalusy, April 2025). The government bill was submitted 13 April 2026. Näringsutskottet recommended adoption in full and rejection of all follow-up motions; the chamber concurred on 15 June 2026 — the two laws passed by acclamation, with three reservations voted down. See the source page for the parliamentary detail.

Key changes relevant to flexibility

• EU-aligned terminology and system responsibility. New definitions (överföringssystem, distributionssystem, etc.) are brought into Swedish law. The driftsäkerhet tasks previously held by a systemansvarig myndighet are now expressed as a direct obligation of the holder of the transmission system (Svenska kraftnät) — moving legal responsibility closer to the actual system role. The law also makes explicit that grid companies hold a system responsibility, not merely ownership of lines. Supervision of operational security moves entirely to Ei from 1 January 2027 (15 kap. 1 § elsystemförordning): previously part of the responsibility lay with Svenska kraftnät, while Ei supervised several central EU-based security requirements. (Source - Ei Nya Ellagar och Ny Förordning (2026))
• BRP and BSP written into primary law. The single balansansvarig role is split into balansansvarig part (BRP) and leverantör av balanstjänster (BSP) — codifying in statute the roles that have existed only contractually since 1 May 2024, and aligning with the EU Electricity Balancing Regulation. See Balancing Markets.
• Anvisade elavtal abolished → sistahandsleverantör. The old system of assigned electricity contracts is replaced by a leveransskyldig sistahandsleverantör (supplier of last resort): the supplier with the largest market share in a local-grid area must serve contract-less customers, who may choose freely among its offers. Implements the EU supplier-of-last-resort requirement. In force 1 July 2027.
• Aggregation services get a statutory chapter. The law dedicates ch. 13 (Aggregeringstjänster) to aggregation — the first time aggregation has its own chapter in Swedish electricity law (alongside statutory definitions of aggregering, aggregeringstjänst, and efterfrågeflexibilitet). This is architecture, not the missing compensation methodology — see What it does not resolve below and Aggregation.
• Energy sharing (energidelning). New rules (ch. 14) implement Art. 15a of the revised Electricity Market Directive (EU 2024/1711), letting a customer credit renewable electricity produced at another property within the same bidding zone. A new organisatör av energidelning role is defined. See Energy Communities.
• Concession rules carried into the companion law. The Lag (2026:1283) om elektriska ledningar holds the nätkoncession rules with only minor changes from the ellagen — notably, the luftledning-vs-mark/sjökabel choice now applies also at amendment/omprövning of a line concession, not just at initial granting.

Implementation still to come

The primary laws are only the first layer. For full application the government will issue a set of förordningar in the near term, and Ei expects multiple bemyndiganden to develop accompanying föreskrifter. A large number of existing Ei föreskrifter will be updated — partly for new law references and terminology, partly in substance — and the new definitions may slightly change which actors fall under a given föreskrift. So the practical scope of several changes (including Ei’s new responsibilities) becomes clear only once the förordningar are in place. (Source - Elmarknadslag (2026-1281))

Sistahandsleverantör transition: Ei announced (9 September 2026) it has begun preparatory work for the 1 July 2027 switch to leveransskyldig sistahandsleverantör — analysis, stakeholder dialogue, and information for affected actors. Two föreskrifter are planned for spring 2027: how grid companies calculate market shares to determine the designated supplier of last resort per area, and how that designation must be publicized. (Source - Ei Förberedelser Sistahandsleverantör (2026))

Ei’s own readiness plan (news item 22 September 2026): about 15 of Ei’s föreskrifter need only new law references and terminology, expected done in early 2027; about 10 need changes in substance and are taken in priority order, and new bemyndiganden allow wholly new föreskrifter. A second ordinance, belonging to the lag om elektriska ledningar, has still not been published. (Source - Ei Nya Ellagar och Ny Förordning (2026))

Implementing ordinance now read in full: the elsystemförordningen (2026:1522), issued 2026-07-23 and in force 1 January 2027 (two sections 1 July 2027), is the companion förordning and replaces förordning (2022:585) om elnätsverksamhet and six other ordinances; it mostly delegates detail to Ei föreskrifter (DSO flexibility products approved by Ei, DNDP content, Art. 20a data publication, quarterly available-capacity information, effektregleringssystem, revenue-cap methods) — see Source - Elsystemförordning (2026-1522). Its first downstream föreskrift is already out — EIFS 2026:10 on anslutningsavgifter (connection charges, ch. 6 of the elmarknadslag), decided 3 August 2026 and in force from the same date as the primary laws, 1 January 2027. (Source - EIFS 2026-10 Anslutningsavgifter för Elektriska Anläggningar (2026))

What it does not resolve

The reform is deliberately structural; several flexibility questions are left open (and were the substance of the rejected motions):

• Independent aggregation / compensation model. The bill codifies the architecture but not the compensation methodology; the government has stated it will not implement Svk’s proposed demand-response compensation model (KN2023/03647). See Independent Aggregation in Sweden — The Implementation Gap.
• Standalone BSP role is still not operational — full BSP/BRP implementation is expected only 2028–2029.
• No statutory energy-community definition — a V/MP reservation seeking one was rejected; Swedish law has energy sharing but no energy community definition.
• Imbalance pricing (obalanspris) reform is handled separately by Svk/Ei — a revised obalanspris can take effect earliest March 2027.

Relationship to Prop. 2025/26:16

The two propositions together complete Sweden’s transposition of Directive 2024/1711:

• Prop. 2025/26:16 (in force 1 Jan 2026): Art. 6a flexible connections, fixed-price contracts, consumer protection, demand-flexibility information.
• Prop. 2025/26:240 → Elmarknadslagen (in force 1 Jan 2027): Art. 15a energy sharing; full structural recast replacing the ellagen.

Related pages

Svenska kraftnät · Balancing Markets · BSP and BRP Roles · Distribution System Operator · Energy Communities · Demand Response · Independent Aggregation in Sweden — The Implementation Gap · Flexibility Need Assessment · Electricity Market Design Reform 2024