It may be a small consolation for those struggling with the electricity bill - but Sweden had the lowest electricity prices in the EU last year.

SVT has compared spot prices, i.e. the prices at which the electricity companies buy the electricity.

Those prices say the most about the electricity system itself, according to energy expert Pär Holmberg. 

In Sweden, the average price was SEK 1.19/kWh in 2022. Norway and Finland are second and third on the list.

Sweden and Norway have different electricity price ranges and big differences between north and south, in this example we have used an average price.

The highest price was in Italy: SEK 3/kWh.

The lowest prices have been in northern Norway, which is not part of the EU.

Most expensive in Scania

Skåne has had the highest prices in Sweden, an average of SEK 1.52/kWh, but even this is lower than all other EU countries.

According to the Energy Agency, Sweden ranks low thanks to our large surplus of electricity.

We also have fossil-free electricity and low operating costs to produce electricity both from water, wind and nuclear power. 

According to energy expert Pär Holmberg, there are three main reasons why electricity has become more expensive in Europe:

  • The war.

    Stopped gas deliveries from Russia have driven up the price of gas and resulted in sharply increased prices for all energy in Europe - not least electricity. 

  • A dry 2022. The Alps and Norway have had unusually little water for hydropower and lower electricity production than normal.

  • Nuclear power has had problems, mainly in France.

    Over half of the country's 56 reactors had problems at the same time.

Cheaper with nuclear power

According to Pär Holmberg, the fact that Sweden has closed several nuclear reactors is not the main reason for high electricity prices, although we would probably have slightly lower prices if we had more nuclear power in operation.

- The talk about a dismantled electrical system is rather exaggerated.

We have certain imbalances between north and south, but despite that, even southern Sweden has had lower electricity prices than all other EU countries.

It shows that Sweden's electricity system fared better than all other EU countries' electricity systems, says Pär Holmberg.