The government is proceeding with its proposal to make personal data about the electricity subsidy confidential.

This was told by Minister of Economic Affairs Ebba Busch (KD) on Monday.

Want to protect individuals

The government already made it clear in December that they wanted to keep information about who gets to take part in the grant confidential.

The reason was to protect "individuals' personal circumstances", as information about electricity consumption and sums in the form of electricity subsidies would become public.

But the Legislative Council directed sharp criticism and believed that the information should be disclosed.

- The government has so far only given general reasons for the secrecy and according to the Council of Laws, that is not enough reason.

Based on the criticism that has been put forward, I would say that the proposal is very weakly substantiated, says Joakim Nergelius, professor of law and constitutional law at Örebro University.

"Can give a picture of habits and lifestyle"

The government believes that data can provide a picture of "habits, lifestyle and finances".

Information that can then be used in sales campaigns, or to point out private individuals' electricity consumption in an unfavorable way.

- Ordinary Svensson and Karlsson have not asked to have their consumption disclosed to the rest of the world.

It is also an important Swedish tradition that we protect each other's privacy, says Minister of Economic Affairs Ebba Busch to SVT on Wednesday.

Got a week on it

The Legislative Council is also critical of the time frame and writes that the referral period was far too short – one week and half a day for the two proposals.

- I don't take criticism lightly, but the need for a high tempo weighs more.

There are so many who are in desperate need of this support now, says Ebba Busch.

The professor: Has difficulty justifying

It is not the first time a Swedish government has gone against the Legislative Council.

When the so-called upper secondary school law was to be introduced in 2018, the red-green government was accused of having reached the limit "of what is acceptable".

According to Joakim Nergelius, it is not the defiance in itself that is the problem for the government - but rather how they justify the decision.

- You cannot force the government and Riksdag to follow the Legislative Council.

But if a law is pushed through despite criticism, the probability that it can be rejected in a court later increases.

Anyone who wants to appeal the secrecy then has very good arguments to rely on.

The new legislation is supposed to enter into force on 1 February.