Who is who in the Swedish market
Same brand often plays three different roles. This is the map.
The hardest thing for newcomers in Sweden is that one parent company can show up in three roles. Vattenfall makes power at Forsmark, owns wires through Vattenfall Eldistribution, and sells you contracts through Vattenfall Sälj. Three jobs. By law, three separate companies. Same brand on top.
This page puts each role in its right place, so the rest of the library makes sense.
The whole map in one picture
flowchart TB
REG([Regulator<br/>Ei, Energimarknadsinspektionen<br/>sets the rules])
REG -. regulates .-> TSO
REG -. regulates .-> DSO
REG -. regulates .-> RET
PROD([Producer<br/>operates the power plant])
TSO([TSO<br/>Svenska kraftnät<br/>runs the 400 kV grid<br/>keeps the system balanced])
DSO([DSO<br/>local grid company<br/>owns the wire to your house])
RET([Retailer, elhandelsföretag<br/>sells you a contract<br/>owns no wires, no plants])
BRP([BRP, balansansvarig<br/>holds the imbalance contract<br/>with Svenska kraftnät])
AGG([Aggregator<br/>pools small assets<br/>into one big bid])
YOU([You])
PROD --> TSO --> DSO --> YOU
RET -.->|contract| YOU
PROD <-->|sells through| BRP
RET <-->|buys through| BRP
AGG --> BRP
style REG fill:#fecaca,stroke:#b91c1c,color:#7f1d1d
style PROD fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#15803d,color:#14532d
style TSO fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#a16207,color:#713f12
style DSO fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#a16207,color:#713f12
style RET fill:#fed7aa,stroke:#c2410c,color:#7c2d12
style BRP fill:#fed7aa,stroke:#c2410c,color:#7c2d12
style AGG fill:#fed7aa,stroke:#c2410c,color:#7c2d12
style YOU fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#1e40af,color:#1e3a8a
Yellow boxes carry electrons. Orange boxes carry money. Red is the regulator.
One sentence per role
| Role | What they do | Real names |
|---|---|---|
| Producer | Makes the power. | Vattenfall, Fortum, Statkraft, Uniper, OX2 |
| TSO | One per country. Owns the national high-voltage grid. Keeps balance. | Svenska kraftnät |
| DSO | Owns the local wires to your meter. Regulated monopoly. | Vattenfall Eldistribution, Ellevio, E.ON Energidistribution, ~170 others |
| Retailer | Sells you a contract. Owns no wires, no plants. | Tibber, Bixia, Greenely, Vattenfall Sälj |
| BRP | The company that gets billed when a plan was wrong. | Often the same company as the producer or retailer, sometimes separate |
| Aggregator | Bundles small flexibility into a market bid. | Sympower, CheckWatt, Tibber Pulse, Flower |
| Regulator | Approves what the DSO can charge. Polices the rest. | Ei (Energimarknadsinspektionen) |
Why the unbundling
Swedish law forces a clean line between wires and contracts. A DSO cannot also be a retailer in the same legal entity. The same parent group can own both, but they must be separate companies, with separate accounts and separate IT.
This is why Vattenfall shows up three times. Each Vattenfall company has a different job, a different licence, and a different boss for the regulator.
When you read Vattenfall raises prices, always ask which Vattenfall.
- The producer changed its bid into Nord Pool.
- The retailer changed the påslag on your contract.
- The DSO asked Ei to approve a new nätavgift.
Three different stories.
Next
Each Swedish bidding zone has its own price. See The four Swedish bidding zones.