The rampant prices on the energy market are hitting Swedish households and businesses hard.

The highest price is paid by customers in southern Sweden, electricity area four.

At the same time, Sweden has taken over the place as Europe's largest net exporter of electricity.

Among other things, Swedish electricity is sent to Germany through the sea cable Baltic Cable.

Since there is a shortage of power production in southern Sweden and the transmission capacity from the north is limited, exports contribute to prices increasing even more in southern Sweden.

The German cable is owned by a Malmö-based limited company with the same name.

Just like Svenska Kraftnät, Baltic Cable receives so-called bottleneck revenues when there are price differences between the areas between which the electricity is sent - the greater the price difference, the greater the revenues.

Sweden sent almost two terawatt hours of electricity to Germany from January to July this year.

That is almost half of all the electricity that all Scania's villas, apartments and holiday homes use in a year.

Photo: Jens Forsberg

Profit of half a billion

Baltic Cable is in turn wholly owned by the Norwegian state energy company Statkraft.

Due to the shaky electricity market, the last few years have been profitable for the company.

Last year, the bottleneck revenue more than doubled to over SEK 800 million and the profit was half a billion.

But that's nothing against this year.

SVT's review shows that Baltic Cable has drawn in three billion kroner so far this year as a result of the large price differences in electricity between Germany and southern Sweden.

- I myself am shocked that it has become as high as it has, says Jan Brewitz, CEO of Baltic Cable.

Previously, the company could withdraw share dividends, but now the billions end up in a special internal account that belongs to the Norwegian-owned company.

There has been a dispute with the Energy Market Inspection and its German counterpart for several years regarding how the money may be used.

The question is whether Baltic Cable, like Svenska Kraftnät, must invest the bottleneck revenues in the electricity grid or whether they should be allowed to withdraw money in share dividends.

SVT has reviewed Baltic Cable's annual reports.

Between 2005 and 2014, the owners - first Eon and Statkraft and then only Statkraft - took out a total of 1.9 billion in share dividends.

Photo: Jens Forsberg

"Nothing strange about it"

Jakob Norström, CEO of Statkraft Sweden and chairman of the board of Baltic Cable, describes recent earnings as extreme.

At the same time, he is clear.

- It is Baltic Cable's money.

According to him, they basically agree with the Energy Market Inspection that they should be allowed to collect some form of return.

- There is nothing strange about that.

During the period we have had bad years and good years, that is a risk.

That's how the market works, says Jakob Norström.

The dispute over how much profit the company can extract is still ongoing.

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