Electricity budget for housing cooperatives: how the board calculates and explains it to members

Why the electricity budget is hard to get right

The electricity cost is one of the few large items in a housing cooperative's (BRF) budget that can change quickly. Interest rates and management fees can be forecast. The electricity price, on the other hand, can differ greatly between two winters, and that difference has to be covered by the annual fee or the cooperative's reserves.

The goal is not to guess exactly right. The goal is a budget that holds in an expensive scenario, and an explanation members understand.

Split the electricity cost into four parts

Never calculate using an average price per kWh from a single invoice. Break down the cost:

1. Electricity supply. Consumption times the electricity price plus markup. The part that varies most.
2. Grid fee (nätavgift). A fixed fee, sometimes a capacity charge or subscribed capacity, and a transmission fee per kWh. Set by the grid company and usually changed at the turn of the year.
3. Energy tax. 36.0 öre/kWh excluding VAT in 2026. Housing cooperatives are not entitled to a reduction.
4. VAT. A cooperative with only residential units normally cannot deduct VAT on the building's electricity, so it must be included in the budget. If the cooperative has VAT-liable activities, such as rented commercial premises, this may differ. Check with the cooperative's financial manager.

Calculate consumption per month

Get monthly consumption for the past two to three years. It is available from the grid company or on the invoices. Even a cooperative with even consumption usually uses more electricity in winter: more lighting, engine heaters in the garage and, in some buildings, electric heating or heat pumps.

This matters, because winter kWh are usually also the most expensive. Particularly in SE3 and SE4, the difference between summer and winter months can be large. Follow the price in your bidding zone (elområde) on the spot price pages.

Calculate three scenarios

Make three calculations for electricity supply: a normal year, a cheap year and an expensive year. Use actual prices from previous years in your bidding zone as the basis, not forecasts.

Example: A cooperative uses 120,000 kWh per year, of which 70,000 kWh from October to March. Energy tax comes to 120,000 × 36 / 100 = 43,200 kr. In this worked example, assume an average price including markup of 60 öre/kWh in winter and 30 öre/kWh in summer. Electricity supply then comes to 70,000 × 0.60 + 50,000 × 0.30 = 42,000 + 15,000 = 57,000 kr. If the winter price is instead 150 öre/kWh, the winter portion becomes 105,000 kr, that is 63,000 kr more. With VAT, which the cooperative normally cannot deduct, the difference is 78,750 kr.

The figures are examples. The point is that the expensive scenario must be affordable, whether through budget margin, provisions or contract type.

The contract type determines how large the risk is

With a variable contract, the cooperative bears the full price risk. The budget then needs a buffer for the expensive scenario.

With a fixed price, the supply cost is known, but you pay for the security and risk locking in a high level.

With a winter-secured contract, precisely the months with the highest volume and price are protected. For many cooperatives this is a reasonable compromise. Read more on winter-secured contracts and in Electricity contracts for housing cooperatives.

Remember that the contract period rarely coincides with the financial year. Check which price applies in which months before the budget is locked.

Do not forget capacity and the grid fee

The grid fee is less volatile but can change. If the cooperative has a main fuse above 63 A, you probably pay for subscribed capacity, and an overrun during a single winter hour can then cost extra. Charging points in the garage can change the capacity profile dramatically. See Charging points in housing cooperatives and Peak loads: lower your grid fee.

For smaller fuse-based subscriptions (säkringsabonnemang), several grid companies have paused or removed the capacity charge (effektavgift) during 2026, while others have kept it. Check what applies with your grid company ahead of the budget year instead of relying on last year's price list.

How to explain changes to members

A fee increase caused by electricity is easier to accept if members understand why. Some principles:

• Show the components. Report supply, grid, tax and VAT separately. This makes it clear that the cooperative controls only part of the cost.
• Show the consumption. If consumption is stable but the cost rises, it is due to price, not waste.
• Explain what the board has done. For example, that the contract has been procured, that the contract type was chosen for budget security or that unnecessary metering points have been terminated.
• Avoid exact forecasts. Write "the budget can withstand an electricity price at the level of winter 20XX" rather than promising a specific cost.
• Be early. Inform members during the budget process, not after the fee notice has been sent.

A short piece in the member newsletter is often enough: what electricity cost last year, what the budget assumes, which contract type the cooperative has and why.

What you can do today

• Pull monthly consumption for the past two years and mark October to March.
• Calculate the energy tax: annual consumption × 0.36 kr. This is a fixed item you can budget exactly.
• Make a calculation where the winter price is twice as high as in your base budget. Can the cooperative absorb the difference?
• Check when the electricity contract expires relative to the financial year.
• Write three sentences to members about how the electricity cost is made up.

Savera can prepare budget data with scenarios based on the cooperative's own consumption and contracts.