Source - Ellag (1997:857)

Title: Ellag (1997:857) Reference: SFS 1997:857 Publisher: Riksdagen (Swedish Parliament) Issued: 1997-11-20 Last amended: t.o.m. SFS 2025:1345 Department: Klimat- och näringslivsdepartementet URL: https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/ellag-1997857_sfs-1997-857/ Language: Swedish

The Swedish Electricity Act — the primary national legislation governing grid operations, market structure, connection rights, revenue regulation, and balancing. The authoritative foundation for Ei‘s regulatory powers and for DNDP, villkorade avtal, aggregation and flexibility obligations in Sweden.

Structure

15 chapters (from SFS 2025:1345, in force 2027-01-01):

Key claims and provisions

1 kap. — Definitions

§ 4 (as amended through SFS 2025:1345) contains the statutory definitions used throughout Swedish electricity law:

3 kap. — Grid companies and grid operations

Flexibility services in distribution networks (§§ 15–17)

§ 3:15 — Delegates authority to government/Ei to issue regulations about:

1. DSO obligation to develop specifications for flexibility services and standardized market products, have them approved by Ei, and publish the approved product list
2. Requirements that specifications and products must meet

This is the statutory mandate for Ei’s oversight of DSO flexibility market products.

§ 3:16 — The core DNDP obligation: “Ett distributionsnätsföretag ska vartannat år (1) ta fram en plan för hur nätverksamheten ska utvecklas (nätutvecklingsplan), (2) offentliggöra planen, och (3) ge in planen till nätmyndigheten.” — Lag (2022:596).

This biennial obligation is the domestic statutory basis for the DNDP requirement. Implementation delegated to government (Förordning 2022:585 §§ 13–15) and to Ei (EIFS 2024:1).

§ 3:17 — Delegates authority to government/Ei to issue regulations about:

1. What a DNDP must contain and how it must be developed
2. Publication requirements
3. Exceptions from § 3:16 requirements

This is the direct delegation basis for EIFS 2024:1.

Energy storage prohibition (§ 3:39)

§ 3:39: “Ett nätföretag får inte äga, utveckla, förvalta eller driva en energilagringsanläggning.” — Lag (2022:596). The Swedish domestic implementation of the Clean Energy Package’s DSO storage ownership ban. Exceptions via dispensation from Ei (§ 3:40, see Förordning 2022:585 §§ 18–22).

Prohibition on impeding demand flexibility (§ 3:41)

§ 3:41: “Ett nätföretag får inte ställa tekniska krav eller andra villkor som försvårar efterfrågeflexibilitet.” Conditions needed for safe, reliable, efficient grid operation are permitted. — Lag (2023:238).

§ 3:42: Authority for Ei to issue regulations on permissible technical requirements for demand flexibility.

4 kap. — Connection and power transfer

Connection obligation (§ 4:1)

§ 4:1: All grid licence holders must connect electrical installations on “objektiva, icke-diskriminerande och i övrigt skäliga villkor” (objective, non-discriminatory and otherwise reasonable terms) — the foundational connection right.

Flexible grid connection (§ 4:4a)

§ 4:4a (Lag 2025:1330) — “Flexibel nätanslutning”: Authority for government/Ei to issue regulations on:

1. Requirements for power control systems and other technical requirements for connection under a flexible connection agreement (villkorade avtal — an agreement “som innefattar villkor för att begränsa och kontrollera inmatning eller uttag av el”)
2. Certification of power control systems

This provision is the legal underpinning for the villkorade avtal framework in the connection context — entered into force 2026-01-01.

Pre-approval requirement for contract methods (§§ 4:46–47)

§ 4:46: “Ett nätföretag får inte ingå avtal i frågor om anslutning till elnätet eller överföring av el förrän de metoder som ska användas för att utforma avtalsvillkoren har prövats av nätmyndigheten.” — Lag (2023:238).

This is the statutory basis for Ei’s method pre-approval requirement for villkorade avtal, which Ei2025:01 invokes as its primary legal authority. The pre-approval requirement applies to all connection and transfer agreements, not only flexible ones. The provision does not cover methods for setting charges (those are handled separately under revenue cap regulation).

§ 4:47: Ei shall approve the method if it can be expected to lead to “objektiva och icke-diskriminerande” contract terms. If Ei doesn’t approve, it must specify in the decision how the terms should instead be drafted. Decisions take effect immediately.

(Note: 4 kap. as a whole expires 2027-01-01 and will be replaced by revised chapter under SFS 2025:1345.)

5 kap. — Revenue cap regulation (intäktsram)

Statutory basis for flexibility incentive in revenue cap (§§ 5:12a–12b)

§ 5:12a (Lag 2022:596): “När intäktsramen bestäms ska hänsyn tas till i vilken utsträckning flexibilitetstjänster används och förbättrar effektiviteten i nätverksamheten. Bedömningen får medföra en ökning eller minskning av intäktsramen.”

This is the statutory foundation for the TOTEX/lösningsneutralitet reform: the ellagen itself mandates that Ei must consider flexibility service use when setting each company’s revenue cap. The RP5 reform (Ei’s 2028–2031 revenue regulation methodology) is implementing this statutory requirement, not exercising discretion. See Ei › CAPEX bias reform and Source - Ei Inriktning intäktsramar 2028-2031 (2025).

§ 5:12b: Authority for government/Ei to issue regulations specifying what criteria must be met for flexibility services to be considered as improving efficiency — the delegation basis for future Ei regulations implementing § 5:12a.

Revenue cap structure (§ 5:1)

§ 5:1: The revenue cap must not exceed what is needed to: (1) cover costs of efficiently operating a grid with comparable objective conditions; (2) cover depreciation; and (3) provide a return on capital sufficient to attract capital in competition with alternatives of comparable risk.

Revenue regulation covers 4-year tillsynsperioder (§ 5:2). Currently in tillsynsperiod 4 (RP4, 2024–2027).

8 kap. — System and balance responsibility

Aggregation service obligations (§§ 8:13, 8:16, 8:26)

§ 8:13: A supplier of aggregation services may only provide those services at a delivery point where someone has assumed balansansvar (balance responsibility) specifically covering the imbalances the services may cause. This is the BSP/BRP coordination requirement that Energiföretagen and FlexAbility identify as a major barrier — currently not properly implemented in Sweden (see Aggregation).

§ 8:16: The terms of balance responsibility agreements between the system operator (Svk) and BRPs shall: (1) not hinder aggregation or demand flexibility; (2) limit compensation to BRPs and suppliers to costs for procuring electricity during activation; and (3) take into account the benefits the aggregation service may provide to other BRPs.

§ 8:26: Svk must compensate electricity suppliers for costs they incur when an aggregation service provider activates demand flexibility in the supplier’s delivery points — the aggregation compensation mechanism that Sweden has not yet implemented (cf. Finland/Denmark models referenced in FlexAbility Delrapport 5).

9 kap. — Electricity supply and aggregation services

9 kap. covers the rights of aggregation service providers: information obligations to customers, obligation to enable switching within 3 weeks, and cost-free switching for consumers and small enterprises (§ 9: Aggregeringstjänster).

Relationship to existing wiki topics