Charging points in housing cooperatives: how they affect electricity and grid contracts

Charging points change the cooperative's electricity profile

A housing cooperative (BRF) usually has even and predictable electricity consumption. Charging points change that. An 11 kW charger draws 11 kWh in one hour, and when several cars are plugged in at the same time after the working day, peak loads appear that the cooperative has not had before.

This affects three things: the grid subscription, the supply contract and how the cost is shared between members. This guide covers the financial and contractual questions. The technical sizing must always be done by a qualified electrical installer.

Main fuse and subscribed capacity

The cooperative's connection has a limit, either a main fuse in amperes or a subscribed capacity in kW.

• Fuse-based subscription (säkringsabonnemang) up to 63 A. The fee is mainly determined by the fuse size. Some grid companies also apply a capacity charge (effektavgift), while several have paused or removed it during 2026. Check what applies with your grid company.
• Above 63 A. The cooperative probably has a capacity subscription (effektabonnemang) with subscribed capacity in kr/kW per year. If the measured capacity exceeds the subscribed level, the grid company often charges an overrun fee that can be twice as high per kW. Subscribed capacity can usually only be changed with notice and a limited number of times per year.

Raising the main fuse or the subscription to make room for charging costs money every year, regardless of how much the charging points are used. It is therefore worth first checking how much capacity is actually left.

Example: A cooperative has a peak hourly load of 40 kW on a cold winter evening. Ten charging points of 11 kW could in the worst case add 110 kW if all cars charge at once. With load balancing that limits charging to the capacity available, for example 30 kW in total, no increase is needed. Without control, the cooperative may need a considerably larger subscription.

Load balancing

Load balancing means that the chargers share a limited amount of capacity between the cars. Dynamic load balancing also measures the building's other loads and reduces charging when the building draws more.

For the cooperative, the question is financial: what does it cost to raise the subscription every year, compared with limiting charging capacity? Most cars are parked all night, so a lower capacity per car is often enough. Ask the installer to state the total capacity the system can be limited to and how it interacts with the main fuse. Read more about capacity and grid fees in Capacity charges for properties with charging.

The supply contract

Charging increases the cooperative's volume, sometimes significantly. This has two consequences:

• The contract may need reviewing. A fixed-price contract is signed for a certain volume. Ask the supplier how deviations from the contracted volume are priced.
• Timing matters. Charging often happens in the evening, when the spot price is often higher than in the middle of the night. With a variable contract and hourly pricing, scheduling charging at night can lower the cost. With a monthly average price, the supplier may charge a profile cost because your consumption falls in more expensive hours.

See also Electricity contracts for housing cooperatives.

Billing charging electricity to members

Not all members have an electric car. The principle in most cooperatives is therefore that whoever charges pays for the electricity. Some common arrangements:

• A fixed fee per charging point. Simple, but those who charge little subsidise those who charge a lot.
• Billing by metered consumption. The chargers meter each point and the cooperative invoices, often via the fee notice or a charging operator's system.
• External charging operator. An operator handles billing and payment for a fee. Review the contract term, termination conditions and who owns the equipment.

Set the price per kWh so that it covers the full cost: supply, markup, the variable part of the grid fee, energy tax and VAT, plus a share for the subscription, maintenance and administration. Otherwise the other members pay indirectly through the annual fee.

Example: The charging points use 30,000 kWh per year. Energy tax is 36.0 öre/kWh excluding VAT, which is 10,800 kr per year. The cooperative is not entitled to reduced energy tax on charging electricity. If the charging electricity is included in the calculation of an average total price but billed too low, for example 20 öre/kWh below cost, the deficit is 6,000 kr per year, borne by all members.

VAT

The Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) states that a cooperative invoicing actual electricity consumption must add VAT, and that under certain conditions the cooperative can deduct VAT on the installation of charging posts. This applies if the cooperative charges VAT on the parking rent or bills charging electricity based on individual metering. If the charging points are part of a VAT-exempt activity, the cooperative may not make a deduction. The VAT question is detailed, so check with the cooperative's financial manager or auditor before deciding on a billing model.

Grants

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) has offered grants for charging points that housing cooperatives can apply for. Conditions, amounts and whether the grant is open vary, and in some cases work must not have started before the application. Check the current rules with Naturvårdsverket before ordering. See also Grants and deductions for energy.

Questions to ask before you decide

• What is the cooperative's peak hourly load today, according to the grid company's metering data?
• What main fuse or subscribed capacity do we have, and what does one step up cost per year?
• Can the charging system limit total capacity, and to what level?
• How is charging electricity metered and billed, and does the price cover all costs?
• How does the retailer price the increased volume?
• Who owns and maintains the equipment, and how long are we committing for?

What you can do today

Request hourly values for the past twelve months from the grid company and find the highest hour. Compare it with the cooperative's main fuse or subscribed capacity. The difference shows roughly how much room there is for charging before the subscription needs to change.

Savera can calculate how the charging points affect the cooperative's grid and supply contracts and which billing price covers the costs.