Elmarknadsrådet Meeting 1 February 2026

Event: Elmarknadsrådets möte 2026-02-04 (Meeting 1/2026)
Date: February 4, 2026
Location: Svenska kraftnät, Sundbyberg
Documents: minutes (12 pp.) and consolidated presentations (87 pp.)
Chair: Malin Stridh (Svk)

Context

Elmarknadsrådet is Svenska kraftnät’s advisory council for electricity market participants. This was the first meeting of 2026. New members: Emma Hellström (Flower) and Erik Wallnér (CheckWatt) as representatives of the new “Leverantör av balanstjänster” (balance service provider) category — expanding beyond the traditional producer/DSO/consumer representation. Anders Larsson (Bixia), Kristian Gustafsson (Vattenfall), Cecilia Thorsson (Varberg Energi) received renewed mandates. Johanna Barr (Jämtkraft) is the new DSO representative but was on parental leave, so Thorsten Handler (Jämtkraft elnät) attended in her place; the minutes state that the council was expanded by one further BSP seat.

Agenda items and key content

1. Market roadmap

Mårten Bergman presented the roadmap of upcoming electricity market changes. No timeline changes since the previous meeting. Key milestones:

New tariff: Svk board to decide on February 19 (for 2027 implementation).

Note: the roadmap’s source is a visual diagram whose text extraction scrambled column order; “mFRR EAM” (2025) and “automatiserad nordisk energiaktiveringsmarknad” (2026, the same thing in Swedish) may be the same milestone duplicated across two years rather than two distinct items — unconfirmed against the original slide.

Co-optimisation: ACER views it as the end goal but TSOs see the current harmonized cross-zonal capacity allocation method (Harmonized Cross Zonal Capacity Allocation Method, not co-optimisation) as the achievable step. Co-optimisation is beyond the current roadmap horizon.

2. Elområdesanalys (bidding zone analysis)

Government order to analyze alternatives for Sweden’s bidding zone structure. Delivery: May 29, 2026. Three alternatives evaluated for 2030, 2035 (focus), and 2040:

• Sweden as one bidding zone
• Sweden in two zones (approximately at snitt 2)
• Sweden in multiple zones (comparable to one of the EU-wide review alternatives)
• Additionally: special export zones

This is explicitly not a formal CACM/elmarknadsförordningen review. A formal review requires separate triggering steps (either Svk report documenting structural congestion approved by Ei under Art. 14(7) of EU 2019/943, or demonstrating negligible impact on neighbors under Art. 32.1(d) of CACM). The analysis is a preparatory study using analytical methods better adapted to the Nordic system than the EU-wide review methodology.

An actor survey on financial market impacts closed February 11. Actor meeting on survey results: February 19.

3. Strategisk reserv

First procurement failed: all three bids exceeded the CONE value of 120,000 SEK/MW, totaling 713 MW offered. Procurement cancelled October 2025 (the minutes give the cancellation month only, not a start date).

Second procurement: New model linking payment to LOLE reduction (willingness-to-pay per MW based on how much each MW reduces LOLE). Soft cap retained (96 MSEK total, ±10%). Result: 350 MW contracted January 8, 2026:

• Sydkraft Thermal Power AB (Karlshamnsverket, Blekinge): 330 MW
• Mälarenergi AB (Aros G4, Västerås): 20 MW

Also bid: Qurrent AB (15 MW battery storage), Flower Infrastructure Technologies AB (21 MW battery storage) — not selected. Selection was based on the LOLE-reduction cost-effectiveness model (payment tied to how much each MW reduces LOLE), not a capacity-size threshold — Flower’s 21 MW bid was in fact larger than Mälarenergi’s contracted 20 MW.

LOLE impact: Base 1.6h → 1.2h with 350 MW. Target 1.0h would require ~500 MW additional on top of the 350 MW already contracted (≈850 MW total).

Charge: Applied to SE3 and SE4 for winter 2026/27.

Next steps: Ei is reviewing CONE and VoLL (result expected autumn 2026). New procurement preparation starts spring 2026; formal procurement starts August 2026 for next winter.

Design principles:

• Annual and multi-year contracts available; multi-year must be fossil-free
• Technology-neutral; minimum 1 MW, 2h endurance
• Both production and load-shedding eligible
• Strategic reserve intended as separate from mFRR — Svk does not want the reserve to compete for mFRR resources/bids

4. Civil beredskap — Projekt Nexus

Svk developing a national electricity supply strategy for war/crisis (Projekt Nexus), consolidating two 2024 studies (§4 interpretation + Upprätthållande av Marknadsbaserad Drift). Key shift: planning must now start from war scenario, adapted for crisis — reversal of previous approach. NATO membership adding new frameworks.

The strategy covers: transition scenarios (Nordic synchronous area, HVDC links, alternative transmission network, alternative market logic), robustness of ordinary solutions, and alternative solutions for extraordinary situations.

Svk to identify individual actors and groups of actors for deeper dialogue (selection criteria and named companies not specified in the minutes or presentation).

5. Nätinvesteringar

Target: SE3-SE4 capacity of 6,200 MW. Current gap: approximately 600 MW. Key projects:

North (SE1/SE2):

• Porjusberget-Naalojärvi 400 kV line: 2029
• Norrlandskusten: 2028-30
• Investigation: “Östra Norrbotten / Aurora Line 2” (2026)
• Aurora Line (SE1-FI interconnector): temporary 200 MW limitation by Fingrid for FCR margin reasons; will be corrected at next annual FCR allocation review

Middle:

• NordSyd multiple packages: 2026-2035
• Sörmlandspaketet: primary east-west flow enabler, expected 2030-2031 (3 lines instead of current 2)

South:

• Västkusten-programme: 2024-2031
• Skåne Syd package: 2036-2038 (Skåne Väst is at study-completion stage only, no commissioning date given; Skåne Öst has no date in the presentation)

Notable demand: 32.4 GW national total of connection applications for uttag (consumption) as of 31 Dec 2025 (Norrbottens län itself is 4,336 MW inmatning / 19,737 MW uttag); 6 GW new data center applications in SE3 since 2024 LMA. Svk 2030s scenario: flow at snitt 1 expected to reverse from SE1→SE2 to SE2→SE1. Svk working on new LMA to be published during 2026.

6. New imbalance pricing at MARI/PICASSO connection

Current imbalance pricing is per “samreglerat område” (uncongested area) — crossing congestion does not affect pricing. From MARI/PICASSO connection, it will be per bidding zone:

Key design questions:

• VoAA (Value of Avoided Activation): New price for quarters with no system need or netted need (no activation needed). VoAA = mid-price of first activation bids.
• Imbalance price calculation: Volume-weighted mean of mFRR SA+DA prices vs. marginal price — major industry controversy
• Spot price constraint on bids: Currently mFRR bids must be above spot price in upward direction; this constraint is removed at MARI connection
• New components from PICASSO (aFRR): incentivising component, scarcity component, TSO financial neutrality component

Timeline: MARI: Q1 2027, PICASSO: Q4 2027

Removing the day-ahead price reference may reduce the incentive to manage intraday and shift value toward real-time — batteries recharging on intraday/balancing markets was raised as a related technical point, though not explicitly framed as an industry “concern” in the minutes. Svk wants input before consultation on proposed pricing.

7. Självreglering (self-regulation)

Svk formally evaluating whether to allow “self-regulation” — a BRP actively adjusting to reduce system imbalance (not just own portfolio balance). Currently not allowed in Sweden.

Definition: a BRP maintaining an imbalance in the opposite direction to the system’s total imbalance (i.e., intentionally going short when system is long, to help it).

Comparators (Nordic and non-Nordic): Finland, Denmark (Nordic), plus Netherlands and Belgium — all allow self-regulation.

Prerequisites for well-functioning self-regulation:

1. Accurate real-time data published to market
2. Resources with sufficiently fast activation times
3. Correct incentives (aligned with system direction)
4. Must complement, not substitute, TSO balancing

Risks: Many actors acting simultaneously on the same data could create oscillations — more acute with fast resources like batteries. Ongoing: BRP survey + interviews, coordination with other market changes (imbalance pricing, ID gate closure times).

Industry: Generally positive about more resources helping balance. Concern: system could become harder to manage with many simultaneous fast actors.

8. Article 182 SO GL — TSO-DSO agreement

SO GL Art. 182 enables DSOs to limit BSP participation in balancing markets. Agreement covers:

• Information exchange: BSP must provide plant-ID, bidding zone, network area, resource type, product (FCR-D/N, aFRR, mFRR), rated power, prequalified capacity, voltage level
• Grid prequalification: BSP submits application → Svk contacts DSOs (within 10 days) → DSO does network analysis and approves/approves with conditions/rejects (within 4 weeks) → Svk notifies BSP
• Temporary limits: DSO identifies need → notifies BSP (D-2 by 14:00) and Svk → BSP withdraws bids before gate closure → no retroactive cost for BSP
• Cost allocation: No redistribution mechanism needed at this stage (D-2 notification before gate closure avoids balancing costs)
• Threshold: Applies to entities/groups prequalifying ≥0.5 MW
• Voluntary for DSO: DSO not required to sign the TSO-DSO agreement
• Not retroactive: Only new prequalifications covered

Timeline from presentation: webinar 2025 ✓ → consultation Q2 2026 → signing Q3 2026 → evaluation and development

Contact for questions: sogl182@svk.se

9. Network Code Demand Response (NC DR)

ACER submitted its proposal to the EU Commission in March 2025. Commission conducted a public consultation (extracted slide text gives the range as “Sept–July 2025,” which is chronologically reversed — likely an OCR/layout artifact from a two-column slide; exact window unconfirmed). Commission expected to present revised proposal. After that, European Parliament and Council of Ministers have opportunity to object. Expected entry into force: 2026.

After NC DR enters into force, the presentation states four TSO-DSO joint deliverables must be submitted to Energimarknadsinspektionen (Ei) for approval, though the slide enumerating them extracts poorly — the items below are inferred from the surrounding NC DR content-area list (which spans ~7-8 items) rather than a clean four-item slide, so treat this list as indicative, not confirmed verbatim:

1. Flexibility Information System (FIS) terms and conditions
2. Coordination framework for TSO-DSO and DSO-DSO
3. Market-based procurement terms
4. Near-real-time activation terms

Timeline for developing these is described as “tight.” Industry broadly supports standardization and market-based procurement as principle; worries about IT/information exchange complexity.

Key claims and new information

• Strategic reserve finally implemented: 350 MW, winter 2025/26
• NC DR entry into force confirmed 2026
• Art. 182: TSO-DSO agreement process underway; signing target Q3 2026
• Elmarknadsrådet expanded to include balance service providers as explicit category
• Bidding zone analysis delivery May 29, 2026 (not a formal CACM review)
• Flow reversal at snitt 1 expected early 2030s
• Aurora Line SE1-FI temporary 200 MW limitation (FCR allocation, temporary)
• MARI Q1 2027, PICASSO Q4 2027 connection timelines confirmed

Relevance to wiki

• Elmarknadsrådet — entity page needed
• Demand Response — NC DR timeline
• Strategisk Reserv — implementation details; CONE/VoLL review
• Svenska kraftnät — roadmap, nätinvesteringar, civil preparedness
• Balancing Markets — imbalance pricing reform, self-regulation
• TSO-DSO Coordination — The Central Design Problem — Art. 182 progress
• the regulatory timeline — multiple new milestones