Flex›Source - EIFS 2026:4 Ändring i EIFS 2024:1 (2026)

Source - EIFS 2026:4 Ändring i EIFS 2024:1 (2026)

Föreskrifter om ändring i EIFS 2024:1 om nätutvecklingsplaner. Ei’s amendment regulation updating the binding DNDP framework. Decided 5 February 2026; published 18 February 2026; in force 30 April 2026. Signed by Ulrika Hesslow and Anna Haraldsson (Energimarknadsinspektionen). Four pages of operative text.

Bibliographic information

  • Title: Föreskrifter om ändring i EIFS 2024:1 om nätutvecklingsplaner
  • Regulation ID: EIFS 2026:4
  • Decided: 5 February 2026
  • Published: 18 February 2026
  • In force: 30 April 2026
  • Publisher: Energimarknadsinspektionen (Ei)
  • Signatories: Ulrika Hesslow (Director General), Anna Haraldsson

Summary

EIFS 2026:4 amends the existing binding DNDP regulation EIFS 2024:1 across six provisions. The most significant additions are a mandatory digital submission channel, a six-item methodology description requirement, a historical comparison obligation, an expanded capacity analysis scope (covering current and future constraints plus current flexibility service use), and enhanced investment reporting. The amendments apply to the next DNDP cycle; DSOs submitting plans covering the 2025–2034 period under the old rules continue under EIFS 2024:1.

Key changes

Digital submission — new 1 kap. 4 §

DSOs must submit DNDPs via Ei’s designated IT system (“på det sätt som myndigheten anvisar”). This operationalizes Ei’s DNDP data collection infrastructure and resolves the informal data-gathering that underpinned PM2025:03.

Capacity forecasts — updated 4 kap. 7 §

Capacity forecasts must be stated in MW per year per delområde. Forecasts may be presented as a range and must be based on the most probable development.

Methodology description — updated 4 kap. 8 §

The methodology section must now specify all six of the following:

  1. Assumptions underlying the forecast
  2. Actual grid load and diversity effects (faktisk belastning and sammanlagringseffekter)
  3. Demand drivers for the forecast
  4. Municipal, regional, and county plans relevant to future capacity needs
  5. Cooperation with other grid companies (overlying and adjacent networks)
  6. Long-term national energy system development

This is a materially stronger requirement than the prior free-form methodology description. Items 4 and 5 align the DNDP with the three-pillar planning process (scenario coordination with TSOs and municipalities) and directly address the methodological inconsistency problem identified in Ei PM2025:03 and Energiforsk 2026:1157.

Historical comparison — updated 4 kap. 9 §

The capacity forecast must include a historical comparison: the percentage increase or decrease relative to recent historical years, per delområde. This requirement makes forecasts auditable against actual outcomes and directly addresses the systematic overestimation problem documented in the Energiforsk forecasting standardization report.

Capacity analysis — updated 4 kap. 10 §

The capacity analysis section must now cover three distinct items:

  1. Current capacity constraints in the DSO’s own grid and in overlying networks
  2. Current use of flexibility services as alternatives to grid investment — specifying the type and extent of flexibility services already being used
  3. Expected future capacity constraints over the 10-year planning period

Item 2 is the most significant addition for the flexibility market domain. Requiring DSOs to document existing flexibility use (type + extent) creates a systematic data feed into the FNA pipeline and makes flexibility procurement visible as a planning tool — not just an aspiration. This directly responds to the gap identified in Ei PM2025:03: ~20% of companies currently use flexibility but documentation has been inconsistent.

Investment reporting — updated 4 kap. 11 §

Planned investments must be reported for a 5–10 year horizon, with: status, timing, purpose, and project description. The basis must be the capacity forecasts from updated 4 kap. 7 §, ensuring investment plans are grounded in the same MW figures used for the flexibility needs assessment.

Consultation summary — updated 6 kap. 3 §

The consultation summary (samrådsredogörelse) must be incorporated directly into the DNDP document itself. Previously it was a separate annex; making it part of the main document improves accessibility and accountability.

Transition

Old rules (EIFS 2024:1 as in force before EIFS 2026:4) continue to apply for DNDPs covering the 2025–2034 planning period. New rules apply to the next DNDP cycle — covering the 2027–2036 period, with submissions due by 31 December 2026.

Relevance

The most policy-relevant element for the Flexibility Market and Distribution Network Development Plan domains is the explicit requirement under updated 4 kap. 10 § item 2 to document current flexibility service use. Combined with the methodology and historical comparison requirements, this creates a stronger evidentiary foundation for comparing flexibility-as-alternative versus traditional grid investment — which is a prerequisite for cost-effective flex procurement to become mainstream rather than exceptional.

The digital submission requirement (1 kap. 4 §) closes the last gap in Ei’s statutory authority to aggregate DNDP data: §14a of Förordning (2022:585) created the obligation to publish; this amendment creates the channel to receive structured data. Together they complete the legal infrastructure for the DNDP → FNA data pipeline.