For those who can not afford to pay their electricity bills, there are mainly two alternatives, SVT's tour of the largest electricity trading companies shows.  

Option one is to apply for a deferral - which means that you ask to postpone the payment.

How long the payment can be postponed, and what is required to do so, varies between the different companies.

Usually the time frame is one or a couple of months.  

Alternative two is to, together with its electricity trading company, arrive at some kind of installment plan that can involve the possibility of splitting the payment.

However, the design of such a plan may be associated with fees, making it an unusual choice among customers. 

Vattenfall, Eon, Göteborg Energi, Bixia (Tekniska verken), Skellefteå Kraft and Jämtkraft both offer alternatives.

Payment history comes into play

Several of the companies emphasize the importance of customers who are unable to pay getting in touch well in advance.

Many also point out that it is individual assessments of each customer's situation that form the basis for which alternative is relevant, and whether the alternative is possible.

Payment history and ability to pay can be important factors. 

For customers at Fortum, an installment plan is the only option.

To get one, it is required that the customer applies before the bill you can not pay has expired and that you have paid the latest bills, before the current one, on time.

Fortum and Vattenfall have not seen any increase in the number of applications for installment plans during the winter.

On the other hand, there was a doubling of the number of calls to Fortum's customer service in December 2021 compared with December 2020, according to Fortum's communications manager.

"You have to pay"

Vattenfall and Göteborg Energi testify to a similar situation.

Bixia describes its customer service as completely degraded and Skellefteå Kraft tells of a high onslaught of also chat messages and emails.  

Göteborg Energi also sees a higher demand for deferrals and installments.

Göteborg Energi and Skellefteå Kraft have prepared for even more requests to split or postpone payments in the future.  

Eon looks at the situation a little differently.

- You have to pay a bill that comes, that's how society works.

If you do not pay your invoice, you get problems, says Lena Berglund, regional manager at Eon. 

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How can the people of Skåne's electricity price be more than twice as high as for northerners?

SVT's reporter explains in the clip.

Photo: Simon Krona / SVT and Storyblocks