Response to interpellation 2025/26:204 on price variations in district heating prices in different parts of Sweden
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns price variations in district heating and customer protection. KD argues that district heating is an important part of the energy system 1 and that price increases are due to market prices for biofuels as well as local factors 1. KD is making large investments to reverse previous governments' decisions to phase out combined heat and power 2. KD wants to expand the information requirement during contract changes, have clearer information about customer rights, increase transparency, and tighten supervision 3. S considers that district heating prices have skyrocketed 4, that customer protection is insufficient in a natural monopoly 4, and that customers' powerlessness affects security of supply 4 5. S argues that the system is not perceived as fair or understandable 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! Monica Haider has asked me if I intend to follow up and analyze the large price variations between the country's district heating networks and what measures the government intends to take to strengthen transparency and consumer protection in the district heating market. Monica Haider has also asked if I see a need to investigate whether today's regulatory framework provides sufficient tools to ensure reasonable and predictable prices for households and companies.
District heating is an important part of the Swedish energy system and accounts for approximately half of all heating in Swedish households. During 2023, many district heating companies implemented substantial price increases. According to the analysis by the Swedish Energy Agency, commissioned to evaluate the District Heating Board's function (KN 2023/04611), the price increases were due to sharply increased market prices for biofuels as a consequence of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The challenging situation with high fuel prices still persists, and the price increases on district heating have continued during 2024 and 2025.
In addition to the price of biofuels, there are many other factors that play a role in the pricing of district heating in different parts of the country and which explain why prices differ. This concerns different availability of fuel and waste heat locally, differences in how the district heating networks are built and maintained, as well as what return requirements the owners have. It also, of course, concerns customer density, historical investments, and competition with other heating alternatives. Furthermore, political goals, environmental requirements, and different pricing models can contribute to prices developing differently in different locations. Together, these factors make the district heating price unique for each local network.
To ensure transparent pricing, reduce the risk of unpredictable price increases, and guarantee the rights of district heating customers, the government has tasked the Energy Markets Inspectorate with analyzing the need for enhanced customer protection in the district heating market. The assignment includes investigating and submitting proposals for measures to increase the clarity and transparency of the price and fee structures, as well as providing proposals for changes to these.
The assignment also includes analyzing, evaluating, and proposing measures to strengthen and develop the forums that exist for district heating companies and customers, including Prisdialogen and Fjärrvärmenämnden. One shall also analyze and evaluate alternatives to the current solutions for customer protection.
In other words, both the government and I have seen a need to investigate whether today's regulatory framework provides sufficient tools to ensure reasonable and predictable prices for households and companies, and we will now work further based on the Energy Market Inspectorate's final report.
In conclusion, the government tasked the Swedish Energy Agency in August last year to implement and propose measures to strengthen district heating and heat power. The assignment is to be reported on August 15 this year, 2026, and shall also provide district heating companies with increased conditions to mitigate the development of district heating prices.
Monica Haider (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
It is good that the government has tasked the Energy Markets Inspectorate with analyzing the need for enhanced consumer protection. The Energy Markets Inspectorate presented its final report before Christmas. District heating prices have truly skyrocketed in recent years. It is not acceptable. In the report, the Energy Markets Inspectorate states that district heating customers are now facing very sharp price increases. They were at almost 10 percent in 2025 and over 15 percent in 2024.
It is true, just as the Minister says in his answer, that biofuel prices have increased. But EI also shows that the consumer protection is insufficient, that the transparency is lacking and that many customers feel that they practically lack the opportunity to influence their situation. The number of disputes increased significantly in 2023 when prices skyrocketed. The customers simply feel powerless.
Madam Speaker! This is not sustainable in a natural monopoly where district heating heats almost all Swedish homes and premises and where practically all rental properties in urban areas are dependent on district heating.
We must also not forget the system-critical role of district heating. If more people leave district heating for electricity-based solutions, the demand for electricity increases dramatically, especially during the winter. At the same time, electricity production from combined heat and power decreases, which is most important precisely during the cold hours.
So it is not just a question of price. It is also a question of security of supply and the stability of the entire energy system. A stable electricity system was needed to maintain the competitiveness of companies, lower our emissions, and create new jobs and a good welfare. An efficient electricity system with low costs was needed.
EI proposes several measures in its report: a dispute resolution function outside of court that shall examine whether the district heating price is reasonable, a transparency platform where customers, municipalities, and companies can see how the price is actually structured, but also strengthened supervision and stricter information requirements. The authority also opens up for economic regulation if the development does not improve.
Madam Speaker! The Minister says that the government has seen the need and will continue to work on EI's final report. I welcome that. My question to the Minister then becomes: When does the government intend to return to the Riksdag with a proposal for an inquiry into out-of-court dispute resolution? Clarity is needed both for the customers and for the future legitimacy of district heating.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Monica Haider, for an important interpellation! And thank you, Minister, for the answer!
In Västerbotten, it has been described as Vilhelmina's worst deal of all time when the municipal district heating plant was sold off in 2003. In the beginning, things went quite well. Prices were stable, the supply of heat was good, and the reliability was high. But then, a number of years back, Solör Bioenergi acquired the district heating plants in Vilhelmina, Dorotea, Vännäs, Rundvik, and Nordmaling. Here we see clear differences.
The Minister for Energy and Industry says that every grid is unique. In Västerbotten, it is actually Solörs energy system that is completely unique. It is completely unique in relation to all other providers in other municipalities when it comes to the enormous price increases they have made, which are far above inflation. In 2023, the price was raised by 9 percent. It was raised by 30 percent in 2024 and by an additional 10 percent last year. That is what is on the table.
The Minister states in his response that commodity prices have skyrocketed, partly due to Putin's war. That is partly true. But what is also true is that in practice, no commodity extraction of ore is taking place in the interior of Västerbotten; it just lies there. There is a market to be utilized.
But it is also the case that the customers, the consumers, must be protected against the monopoly market that has emerged. As a customer in Vilhelmina or Vännäs, one has become completely enslaved. One cannot switch. As Monica Haider says, in that case, one has to disconnect from the grid. Then it usually results in some form of electricity dependency to a greater extent, for example with a ground source heat pump.
It is not a long-term sustainable solution to have a district heating market that is so unregulated and which is allowed to have such large price variations. This is a situation that prevails throughout the country to varying degrees, from the southernmost Skåne to northern Sweden. We Social Democrats have raised in the debate that this needs to be regulated. The enormous price variations cannot be allowed.
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! It has not always sounded as it does now regarding combined heat and power. Now we are in complete agreement on its central importance for our system. But I still think it is important to remind that it takes time to get this in order.
During the eight years before we took over, an extra tax on waste incineration was introduced, among other things, which further increased the costs for combined heat and power. This led to both higher electricity prices and higher district heating prices, as several combined heat and power plants were forced to close. Before we managed to save Öresundsverket, for example, the capacity to also produce 250 megawatts of district heating was decommissioned. Under previous S governments, around 1,000 megawatts of combined heat and power were closed in SE3 and SE4 – in addition to 3,000 megawatts of nuclear power, which we nag about many times, rightly so.
One needs to be aware that the tough situation that now prevails for many of Sweden's customers and households is due to a combination of the premature decommissioning of nuclear power and that very much important combined heat and power was driven away. Now we see a turnaround; instead, large investments are being made in combined heat and power, which is positive and good. I am also very happy that we are now in complete agreement on district heating's important significance as a fundamental pillar in the Swedish energy system.
Monica Haider asks a specific follow-up question regarding when we will return to the issue of out-of-court settlements. I agree with both Monica Haider's and Isak From's description – it is far too many households that live in uncertainty and end up caught in the middle. It has already damaged the legitimacy of the system. I do not dare to promise an exact date today. We have received some material and input, and as mentioned, more will come in August this year. Whether we have the possibility to return with partial proposals before then is still too early to say, but work is being done on this within the Government Offices.
Monica Haider (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answers, but I note that they were not much of an answer. It was probably as much as she could give in this situation, I understand. No real timetable was provided and no concrete information was given.
The Minister says that it takes time to get this in order. But now the government has almost had four years to get a number of things in order. I do not really know how long the Minister can refer to previous governments in the answers to all the questions we ask the government.
A recent report from the Energy Markets Inspectorate shows that district heating customers are facing sharp price increases, that customer protection is insufficient, and that transparency is not functioning as it should. That is the situation in which Swedish households stand here and now. But as the minister said, one should now wait for the proposals, prepare them further, analyze them, and so on. It sounds a bit like the issue is being pushed into the future.
Madam Speaker! We are talking about an energy system where district heating is absolutely crucial, which we agree on. District heating relieves the electricity grid, just as has been described, and heats our apartment buildings and premises. It also means that combined heat and power can produce electricity when we need it most. When district heating loses customers, not for technical reasons but due to real price shocks, it creates a vicious spiral that means higher electricity demand, poorer power balance, and reduced electricity production from combined heat and power.
That is not what we need. We need district heating to manage the green transition and to create jobs and welfare. That is why the EU's proposals are so important. But the Minister's answer today gives no indication as to which of these proposals the government intends to implement or when it should happen. At the same time, we now hear that the government has given the Swedish Energy Agency a mandate concerning strengthening district heating and combined heat and power. But that is not to be reported until August 2026.
Madam Speaker! The district heating customers cannot wait that long. They need lower prices here and now. How does the Minister view the proposals for a transparency platform and strengthened customer protection that were presented in the report submitted before Christmas? The purpose is to achieve a price-dampening effect and strengthen the customer's position. In the partial reporting, it was proposed that such a platform should be developed. Has the government started such work?
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! With privately owned district heating plants, customers completely lack alternatives. If it were a municipally owned activity, one could possibly vote out the majority that has mismanaged it. But when a privately owned monopoly drives up costs for private individuals, companies, and municipal operations, it hits the residents' economic margins and the companies' investment opportunities directly. How are the companies supposed to budget when they have seen the sharp increases of recent years? This affects and reduces the room for the municipalities' investments and for the companies' investments in the municipalities, while simultaneously driving up the private company's strong results.
This must naturally be regulated. We have seen this development across the entire country. It is clear that the sitting government, in this case Ebba Busch's government, must act. If it is not the Minister for Energy who is to act, then the Minister for Consumers or someone else in the government must do it. Someone must take those people who have been affected by these unreasonable increases into defense.
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! I shall try to focus on the follow-up questions themselves.
We view the direction in the report positively in principle. When matters are being prepared in the Government Offices, we are somewhat constrained from preceding the preparation or commenting on details in the preparatory work, in case we discover that we need to land somewhere else.
I am trying to maintain the balance between answering the questions and providing some context. There is a lot in this area that, from my perspective, I would have liked to see happen earlier.
We received the report from the Energy Markets Inspectorate on Nobel Day, December 10, last year. We are trying to maintain a high pace in this. That is actually the main reason why we have not yet put our foot down. We needed to get that basis.
I do not consider it impossible that we will still put our foot down during the spring and summer, before we receive the report in August, but I do not dare to promise it. It simply depends on where we believe the whole thing is heading.
Monica Haider (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
It is good to hear that the minister is positive about the direction. A lot is happening at a high pace, but the minister does not quite dare to promise anything or give concrete answers.
District heating is not just a form of heating. It is a prerequisite for the energy system in all of Sweden to function and also for creating new jobs and welfare. It ensures that our homes can be heated without straining the electricity grids. It ensures that combined heat and power can produce electricity during the cold days. It is also crucial for both the climate and security of supply.
The legitimacy of district heating depends on customers perceiving the system as fair and understandable. Today, they do not. There are examples of housing companies all over the country, for example in Falköping and Sveg, where they have installed mountain, water, and air pumps instead, because district heating is too expensive. They do not believe they can extract the high prices from the tenants. It is completely devastating for our electricity system.
EI's report is clear. The price increases are large, just as all three of us have said here in the debate. Consumer protection is weak, and the transparency is insufficient. Therefore, further reforms were needed.
I would have wished that the minister could give even clearer information, but that is what we always wish for from the opposition. For households and municipalities, this is very urgent.
My follow-up question is: How does the government intend to ensure strong consumer protection and reasonable district heating prices while simultaneously safeguarding district heating's crucial role for the stability of the energy system?
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! Thanks to Isak From, who has participated in the interpellation debate, and not least to the interpellator Monica Haider for the relevant questions. This is a bit complex to follow for customers, households, and the general public. It is good that we get a reason to discuss this at regular intervals.
Now we have quite sharp proposals from the authority on the table to handle. These concern, among other things, expanding the information requirement during contract changes and clearer and more detailed information. It concerns requirements for information on customer rights everywhere.
Not least, it is of great interest that it might perhaps be able to mean a certain self-regulation in this part to have a dispute resolution function outside of court. It could be investigated and established for electricity, gas, heating and cooling.
I cannot establish a concrete proposal today. What I want to conclude with is to hammer out a number of principles.
Firstly, we see the large price variation that now exists and the concern it causes. We do not accept an order where district heating customers in practice stand without functioning protection. We shall get that sorted out. We now have the extensive package on the table.
Secondly, we need to have more transparency. The district heating companies' pricing models and finances must be able to withstand scrutiny.
Thirdly, district heating is a fundamental pillar in the Swedish energy system. It provides secure heating to households and companies. There must be resource-efficient conditions for this, and we safeguard it moving forward.
We therefore choose a path where we strengthen customers' rights, increase transparency and tighten supervision, and at the same time can pave the way to strengthen the competitiveness of district heating and power heating.
It is the principles when we continue to work with the material we have on the table so far. We look forward to evaluating it and to soon having a new debate here in the chamber.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.