Sweden accused the EU of taking away billions in electricity money – the Commissioner believes that a solution will be found soon

In May, Sweden announced that it would suspend the construction of an electricity transmission cable to Denmark and to reconsider also cable projects designed for electricity transmission between Finland and Sweden. The background is Sweden’s rebellion against the electricity network package presented by the EU Commission last year.

The EU energy commissioner who visited Finland on Thursday, the Dane responsible for the package Dan Jorgensen believes that there is a solution to Sweden’s concerns.

“Sweden has raised some concerns, and some of them are quite legitimate, so we’re looking at them. I’m pretty sure it’s possible to find a compromise,” commented Jørgensen.

A billion jackpot is at stake in Sweden

In Sweden, the subject of criticism is the EU’s proposal to finance the strengthening and expansion of the region’s electricity grids with so-called electricity transmission bottleneck revenues.

Bottleneck revenues accrue to member countries when electricity is transferred with limited transmission capacity from an area with a lower electricity price to an area with a higher price. The member states have been able to use these revenues for the development or maintenance of the grid or to offset the transmission tariff charged to electricity users.

Sweden has criticized the Commission’s proposal to use part of the bottleneck revenues received by the member states to strengthen electricity networks more widely in the EU in the future. The Swedish government is watchingthat the proposals would limit the member countries’ ability to use the income they receive.

“Sweden goes to war against Brussels so that the EU does not steal Swedes’ electricity money”, comment Swedish Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Ebba Busch in May.

Sweden currently has bottleneck revenues of around 85 billion kroner, or around 7.9 billion euros. 75 percent of them have come from electricity transmission within the country, because Sweden, unlike Finland, is divided into four electricity price zones.

At the end of last year, Finland had a bottleneck income “in the account” of around 800 million euros.

Finland is also critical

Also the minister responsible for Finland’s electricity grids Sari Multala (kok) commented to Kauppalehti in May that the commission goes too far in its proposal and that bottleneck revenues should be used in the region where they are generated.

“In principle, we do not support, for example, the use of bottleneck revenues for electricity network projects other than those directly related to Finland.”

Commissioner Jørgensen anticipates that a solution to the matter can possibly be found among the member states at the meeting of EU energy ministers to be organized at the end of June. Negotiations on the electricity grid package also continue in the EU Parliament.