Ändring Uppdraget Svk Elområdesindelning (2026)

Government decision (Regeringsbeslut I:9) dated 2026-05-28, reference KN2026/01206. Issued by Klimat- och näringslivsdepartementet to Affärsverket svenska kraftnät. Issued “på regeringens vägnar” over the names Peter Kullgren and Mikaela Sjöqvist. Four pages.

Amends the earlier government assignment KN2025/01072 (15 May 2025), which tasked Svenska kraftnät to analyze prerequisites for changing Sweden’s bidding zone division (elområdesindelning). The original deadline was 29 May 2026 — the day after this decision was issued.

Three changes to the original assignment

1. Add the Art. 14.7 structural congestion report

Svk must now also prepare a rapport om strukturell överbelastning (structural congestion report) pursuant to Article 14.7 of Regulation (EU) 2019/943. This is the report that, per the decision’s description of the Art. 14.7 process, can later be used to formally start the bidding zone change process. If it finds structural congestion and Ei approves it, the binding clock below starts:

The report must take its starting point in the other analyses in the assignment. Svk must also propose a zone division that can be taken into a formal process if desired.

2. Add holistic 5–10 year recommendation

Svk must make a helhetsperspektiv bedömning (holistic assessment) of which elområdesindelning is most appropriate for Sweden over the next 5–10 years. The assessment must be based on:

• The original assessment criteria (driftsäkerhet, försörjningstrygghet, capacity calculation, market efficiency, zone stability/reliability, price impacts for Sweden and northern Europe, congestion income, financial electricity market function)
• Expected prevalence of structural congestion

Svk must also consider alternative ways of handling congestion in the pre-operational and operational phases (alternativa sätt till elområdesindelning), to facilitate a possible introduction of fewer zones in Sweden.

3. Add action plan toward 2 areas (if more than 2 proposed)

If the recommended zone configuration has more than 2 elområden, Svk must additionally deliver a handlingsplan — a concrete, timed action plan — for the measures Svk must take to make a 2-area division realizable. This requirement directly reflects the Tidöavtalet commitment:

“Av Tidöavtalet Överenskommelse för Sverige framgår att målet ska vara att skapa en bättre balans mellan elproduktion och elanvändning i olika delar av Sverige, för att därmed ge förutsättningar för stabilare och lägre elpriser så att Sverige på sikt och efter utredning kan bli ett samlat elprisområde.”

The government’s stated rationale for fewer areas: reduced congestion income (flaskhalsinkomster), lower costs for households and industry, higher liquidity on the electricity market, and facilitating electrification.

Extended deadline

Original deadline: 29 May 2026
New deadline: 29 January 2027

The government states it wants the process to proceed “i en snabbare takt” (at a faster pace) — alongside the deadline extension the scope is widened. The decision also cites speeding up the phase-out of fossil fuels and strengthening Sweden’s security and competitiveness, in light of the war in the Middle East and global energy-market disruption, and describes the Art. 14.7 report as a document that can later be used to formally start the process.

Relevance

• Bidding Areas: directly updates the section on Svk’s Swedish-specific analysis; new deadline, expanded scope, formal EU process pathway
• Svenska kraftnät: Svk’s government assignment extended and significantly expanded
• Ei: named as the NRA that must approve the Art. 14.7 structural congestion report
• the regulatory timeline: entry for Svk bidding zone analysis moved from 29 May 2026 to 29 January 2027