Ei R2024:05 Informationsdelning Anslutning (2024)

Ei R2024:05 Informationsdelning vid ansökningar om anslutning till elnäten (26 March 2024, ärende 2023-103425), Ei’s answer to a government assignment to investigate better information sharing between applicants, distribution companies and the transmission company when applying for new grid connections or higher contracted power. It proposes ten measures. This page records the report’s treatment of capacity information and capacity maps, which pre-dates the legal duty now in 27 a § förordning (2022:585) (Source - Förordning (2022-585) om elnätsverksamhet).

Reading scope: the foreword, summary, the legislative proposals (pp. 10-12), section 5.2 on capacity information (pp. 68-71) and the annex section on capacity information in other countries (pp. 110-113) were read. Chapters 2-4, sections 5.1 and 5.3-5.5, the remaining annexes and the other 100-odd pages were not read.

The ten proposals (summary)

Active queue management (1); information on capacity: Svenska kraftnät to be tasked with investigating and developing a national capacity map (2); transparency on queue status, which grid companies with capacity shortages and queues should already publish, plus available capacity “through for example a capacity map” (3); requirements on applications (4); industry practice on project maturity (5); procedures for connection of all electrical installations, published, with an Ei power to prescribe (6); timetables for connection (7); information exchange between distribution companies (8); a central application platform to be investigated by Svenska kraftnät (9); and an investigation of how unused contracted power may be disposed of (10). The legislative texts proposed concern 4 kap. 6 and 8 §§ ellagen and 9, 9 b and 27 §§ of the ordinance (information exchange, procedures and timetables), not capacity maps.

Capacity information (section 5.2)

• Proposal. Svenska kraftnät should be tasked with investigating the forms of, and developing, a national capacity map. Ei judges that grid companies with capacity shortages and a connection queue should already publish queue status, number of applicants, estimated power and other relevant information, and that available capacity should also be published, for example through a capacity map.
• Why. Applicants want clearer information on how much capacity is free and where in the grid it is best to connect. Often they must apply to learn whether capacity exists, which can lead to applications for the same facility in several places and grid areas and to “air bookings”.
• National map. The international survey showed that several countries already have some form of capacity map, usually run by the transmission company. Ei refers to Svenska kraftnät’s own action plan for flexibility (2023), which named a capacity map giving an indication of where capacity exists in an area with several connection points, and to Ei’s earlier report R2023:18 (not read), which proposed that Svenska kraftnät be responsible. Ei says this proposal would take effect in the longer term because an introduction must be preceded by an investigation.
• Regional and local maps. Grid companies can already publish information on their websites, and there are regional examples. A map could show available power at area or substation level and should preferably take decided but not yet implemented reinforcements into account. Grid companies were mainly positive but raised difficulties in how available capacity is to be calculated and shown, and that connection possibility depends not only on local-grid capacity but also on the regional and transmission grids above: a map may show good capacity in an area while a connection still takes long because the local company cannot secure higher subscription from the grid above. Ei concludes that a map at an overall level indicating where capacity exists would improve planning, that the information can be published in other ways than a map, and that other suitable forms are left to the grid companies to investigate. It notes that EU rules requiring transparency on available capacity for new connections were expected before long.
• Queue information. Where capacity is lacking, grid companies should publish how much power or how many installations are queuing, at least at the time of an indicative enquiry; some companies state queue position and queued power, others do not, which creates uncertainty for applicants who can apply in several grids.

Other countries (annex)

• The report says a common way to convey capacity information is “capacity maps” giving indicative information on where capacity exists in an area, run centrally (most often by the transmission company) or by local grid companies. It cites a Eurelectric report of September 2023 in which 14 of 16 countries studied had some form of capacity map for parts of the country, and a further one had one for the transmission grid.
• It states that Swedish grid companies then had no obligation to have a capacity map, and that the proposed guidelines in the electricity market regulation (Art. 50.4 a, for transmission companies) and the electricity market directive (Art. 31.3, for distribution companies) would require information on available capacity.
• Finland: Fingrid’s transmission-grid map shows estimated possible connection for production and consumption, available capacity in coming years, ten-year planned investments and public information on planned connection projects, and some substation limitations; it is not dynamic and updates when new capacity calculations are made. Capacity information for distribution networks is not provided there, for security reasons.
• Norway: capacity maps are run decentrally. Glitre Nett’s map shows capacity available per substation without affecting security of supply, both for conventional connection and for connection with conditional agreements, with a rough queue estimate (capacity requested by early-stage projects and reserved by more mature ones). The cooperation body Elbits offers WattApp, which shows available capacity for production and load, planned future capacity and areas under assessment, clearly marked as indicative.
• Denmark: Energinet runs a capacity map focused on new renewable production, with distribution-level information collected from the distribution companies, updated annually, and being developed to cover load.

Relevance to existing wiki topics

• Capacity Maps — the policy origin of the Swedish duty and the design concerns (calculation basis, upstream dependence, publication form)
• Source - Svk Anslutningsprocessen Rapport (2026) — Svenska kraftnät’s later work on the connection process, which cites this report
• Anslutningsplikt and Villkorade Avtal — the connection obligation and the conditional agreements that capacity information must now describe