In the city of Stockholm, the price goes up by as much as 25 percent.

Karolina Roos, head of finance at Stockholm Water and Sewerage, explains the juicy price increase by saying that investments are required for the future now, at the same time that costs are also increasing for a VA company. 

- Our mission means that the requirements are increasing, at the same time that we have to cover our costs, she says. 

The increase may seem large in percentage, but it is happening from low levels, she points out. 

- It will be approximately SEK 100 a month for a villa and SEK 50 for an apartment.

Garbage collection is increased by SEK 22 for a villa, but then it should be noted that the handling of food waste is free. 

Perhaps one or the other is thinking about whether Stockholm Vatten now has the opportunity to raise its prices, when inflation is still high and people are starting to become quite cautious when it comes to price increases. 

But that's not the case, warns Karolina Roos. 

- We do not charge anything extra and do not take the opportunity to raise, she says. 

Investment needs 

Erik Karlsson, strategist at the industry organization Svenskt Vatten, sees that many of the VA companies around the country will now have to raise their prices. 

- The electricity price is high, and the operations of the VA companies are also affected by it.

It is also a very capital-intensive industry that needs investment, and when interest rates go up, there will also be cost increases for the VA companies.

Many are in need of raising prices, he says. 

But there are very large differences in fees between the municipalities around the country.

Stockholm is one of the cheapest, he says. 

- The cheapest rate is SEK 3,200 for a villa, and in the most expensive municipality it costs SEK 16,000.

That's a huge amount of almost SEK 13,000. 

Far too little has been invested in expanding the pipeline network, he underlines.

Now there are huge needs, because many lines are old, and more lines are also needed in new construction. 

- The rate of investment has started to increase a little.

In 2020, SEK 5 billion was invested in the transmission network.

In 2018, it was 3.3 billion. 

Cost price 

There are also problems with the rules for how VA companies can charge their costs, according to Svenskt Vatten.

The water must be sold at cost price, but the economy must rise steadily over three years. 

- A company may not raise prices this year, but if inflation continues, prices must be raised next year. 

Money must not be funded for maintenance, but for new investments, he says.

It becomes an injustice when current customers have to pay for the maintenance needs that previous generations gave rise to. 

- We would like to see that you were allowed to fund reinvestments as well, says Erik Karlsson.