The solution that monitors peak power consumption in electricity

Demand for electricity is growing rapidly, putting increasing pressure on the Swedish electricity grid. Therefore, electricity consumption must be shifted away from peak times, with power peaks being reduced.

'In the long term, the aim is to reduce the need for investment in the electricity grid, thereby reducing the total cost to electricity customers and society,' says Niklas Thidevall, a senior policy researcher at RISE.

Therefore, in the near future, a low kilowatt price will not necessarily result in a lower electricity bill.

From 1 January 2027, all Swedish electricity network companies will be required to base their power charges on the number of people using the network at any given time. Despite low kilowatt prices, this could cause the total price for users to rise.

Influence through behaviour

It can be difficult for individual users to understand and monitor costs. There are significant variations between network companies in how the power charge is structured. The times that count, the size of the charge, and the way in which the charge is calculated can all differ between companies.

It is important for organisations with high or flexible electricity consumption to understand their own consumption patterns, the capacity of the electricity grid, and the local pricing model.

Niklas Thidevall draws a comparison with the pension system.

"There are also good opportunities to influence your future pension, but very few people fully understand how the system works. However, we can be confident that it does work, as there are clear principles and systems in place to help people make the necessary choices and decide how involved they want to be."

Ideally, he would like to see the same situation on the electricity grid, where customers can choose to be active, passive, or somewhere in between. He would also like to see electricity trading companies and other players offering control services.

"Historically, electricity network charges were very straightforward. However, the system is now becoming more complex, so customer support must also evolve."

In practice, introducing time-differentiated power charges means electricity consumption changes from being a relatively static cost to becoming a matter of control, timing and understanding the system.

This requires joint solutions that simplify the system in practice and enable smart control, so that users do not have to consider each individual fee component.

"When price signals become machine-readable, it creates completely new opportunities for efficiently and accurately controlling electricity consumption," says Niklas Thidevall.

Common data standard

That is why RISE, in collaboration with electricity network companies and service providers, has developed a common data standard for an API (Application Programming Interface). This makes billing information machine-readable and usable directly in digital services, regardless of the customer's electricity network company.

This makes it possible to automatically control electric car charging, heat pumps and property management based on electricity prices and grid fees. Users do not need to understand the fee system in detail, such as when cars should be fully charged or how much indoor temperature variation is tolerable.

"The alternative would be for service providers to manually monitor hundreds of different websites. With the API, however, they receive the information ready-made in a format that can be used directly in control systems and algorithms," says Niklas Thidevall.

A neutral coordinator between different actors

RISE's role is to act as a neutral coordinator between electricity network companies, service providers, authorities, and other parties affected by the new pricing model.

"Our focus is not on developing our own service, but rather on ensuring that there is an open, shared foundation on which others can build."

Niklas Thidevall notes that there will be both winners and losers in the short term with the new model.

"This is about redistributing costs, not allowing network companies to charge higher total fees. The basic idea is that what you pay will more accurately reflect the costs you incur within the system," he says.