The Swedish Consumer Agency has publicly told the electricity grid companies that they are on its radar.
"There is a clear risk that the price will not be fair. Therefore, we want to communicate what we see to the companies so that they have a chance to bring up the issue of fair pricing now," said Marie Östman, Director General of the Swedish Consumer Agency.
The electricity grid companies are allowed to charge for electricity grid delivery according to rules that the Energy Market Inspectorate determines in advance for four years at a time. A ceiling is set for how much the companies can earn.
"The maximum ceiling for how high revenues the companies can have affects the fees," says David Nordström, Head of Unit for Competition Supervision at the Swedish Consumer Agency.
However, the problem is the calculation method, according to the agency, which is tasked with examining competition, even for regulated monopolies such as the electricity grid market.
Electricity grid companies use a calculation method called current acquisition value, which allows them to calculate as if they were building completely new facilities rather than basing the charge on actual costs.
And construction costs have skyrocketed in relation to the general development, Nordström points out.
He says that the Swedish Consumer Agency is now examining the electricity grid companies and their fees for the current period, which extends until 2027, and sees that there is reason for concern.
"The revenue framework has increased for the current period, and we see a risk of unjustifiably high fees.
However the industry organisation Energiföretagen does not agree with the Swedish Consumer Agency's conclusions.
"Such reasoning as presented in the report would be very difficult for the industry to relate to in pricing," said Tomas Malmström, responsible for electricity networks at the Swedish Energy Companies.
"Could pricing and revenue levels that remain within the provisions of the Electricity Act really be unreasonable under other legislation?"
A household's electricity bill consists of several parts: the electricity itself, the electricity network fee and energy tax.
For a residential customer who consumes approximately 20,000 kWh in a year, the electricity network fee accounts for approximately 32 percent, electricity for 41 percent and energy tax for 27 percent.
For an apartment customer, who consumes 2,000 kWh, the electricity network fee accounts for 45 percent, electricity for 36 percent and energy tax for 19 percent.