Grid contract checklist: are you paying for the right subscription?
Main fuse, subscribed capacity and tariff are often decided once and then forgotten. How to check your grid contract step by step, and what applies after the halt to capacity charges.
Why the grid contract gets forgotten
The electricity supply contract is renegotiated at regular intervals. You cannot switch supplier for the grid contract, so it often carries on unchanged for many years. The main fuse, subscribed capacity and tariff were decided when the premises were built or taken over, and since then the business may have changed equipment, expanded or started charging vehicles.
You cannot choose your network operator, but you can almost always influence which subscription and which tariff you have. That is where the money is.
Fuse-based or capacity subscription?
The first thing you need to know is what type of subscription you have.
- Fuse-based subscription (säkringsabonnemang, 16–63 A). The fixed fee is determined by the size of the main fuse. Some network operators also charge a capacity charge (effektavgift, a fee based on your highest power demand) on top.
- Capacity subscription (effektabonnemang, above 63 A). You pay for a subscribed capacity in kW, usually in kr per kW per year, plus a transmission fee per kWh. This applies to both low voltage (0.4 kV) and high voltage.
In March 2026 the Swedish government halted the requirement for all network companies to introduce a capacity charge by 2027. This has led many to believe that capacity charges have disappeared. In practice, however, the halt applies to fuse-based customers. Several network companies have removed or paused the capacity charge for 16–63 A during 2026, while others have kept it. Paused is not the same as removed.
If your main fuse is above 63 A, you are not affected at all. The capacity subscription remains exactly as before. Read more: Capacity charges for businesses.
Checklist for the grid contract
- Subscription type. Does the invoice show a main fuse in amperes or a subscribed capacity in kW? That determines which of the points below apply to you.
- Size of the main fuse. A 63 A fuse can theoretically handle about 44 kW, 50 A about 35 kW, 35 A about 24 kW and 25 A about 17 kW. Compare with your highest measured power. If the peak is well below, you can go down a step, but have an electrician assess starting currents and how the load is distributed across the phases first.
- Subscribed capacity. Compare the subscribed capacity with the highest hourly average power each month over the past year. If the subscription is too high, you are paying for capacity you do not use. If it is too low, you pay for excess usage, which often costs twice as much per kW.
- Terms for changes. Subscribed capacity can usually only be changed with notice and a limited number of times per year, for example once per calendar year with one month's notice. Find out what applies with your network operator before you plan.
- Choice of tariff. Many network operators have several tariffs, for example with a higher transmission fee during peak-load hours (often weekday daytime in winter, such as November–March 06–22). Whether the tariff pays off depends on how much of your consumption falls in those hours. Ask the network operator for a comparison based on your own meter data.
- Metering points. Each site has its own fixed fee. Check that all metering points are in use and that none can be merged or cancelled.
- Reactive power. Many network operators charge when reactive power exceeds a certain share of the subscribed active power, for example 50 per cent. The item is often shown as kVAr or reactive power. Motors, compressors and some drives are common causes. Read more: What is reactive power?.
- Timing of the peak. Find out when your highest hour occurs and what is running then. Often a few loads coincide that can be moved. Read more: Power peaks: how to lower your grid fee.
Red flags on the invoice
- A main fuse or subscribed capacity that has not changed since you moved in
- Excess usage several months in a row
- Lines for reactive power that nobody can explain
- Metering points with almost no consumption
- A tariff chosen long ago and never compared with the alternatives
How to do it yourselves
- Log in to the network operator's portal and download hourly meter data for the past twelve months.
- Find the highest hour per month and compare it with the main fuse or subscribed capacity.
- Calculate how much of your consumption falls in the network operator's peak-load hours, if the tariff has them.
- Read the network operator's price list and terms for changing your subscription.
- Ask the network operator in writing for a comparison of the tariffs you can choose between.
Tip: Never lower the main fuse or the subscribed capacity based on annual consumption alone. It is the highest hour, and for the fuse also the short starting currents, that determines what you need.
How it looks in different industries
The checklist is the same for everyone, but where the money is depends on when and how the business draws power. Choose your industry for a worked example. The capacity prices are assumed, as they vary widely between network operators.
- Energy advice for restaurants
Example: A restaurant on 63 A is in a network area where the capacity charge for fuse-based customers remains in 2026. The peak comes at lunchtime when ovens, hobs and the dishwasher run at the same time. If the peak can be lowered from 35 to 28 kW by preheating the ovens earlier and running the dishwasher after the rush, that is 7 kW less. With an assumed price of 60 kr per kW per month, that equals 5,040 kr a year. Read more: Checklist for a restaurant's grid contract.
- Energy advice for hotels
Example: A hotel that has outsourced its laundry to an external laundry service often still has a subscribed capacity sized for its own washing machines and tumble dryers. If the subscription is 250 kW but the highest hour over the past year was 190 kW, the hotel is paying for 60 kW it does not use. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that comes to 28,800 kr a year.
- Energy advice for industrial companies
Example: An industrial company with 800 kW of subscribed capacity pays for reactive power above 50 per cent of the active power, that is above 400 kVAr. With many motors and compressors, the reactive power is 520 kVAr, or 120 kVAr over the limit. With an assumed price of 30 kr per kVAr per month, that comes to 43,200 kr a year. Go through the meter data with your electrician. Read more: What is reactive power?.
- Energy advice for property owners
Example: A property where a grocery store with large refrigeration systems has been replaced by offices often still has the old subscribed capacity. If the subscription is 200 kW but the highest hour after the change of tenant is 130 kW, the owner is paying for 70 kW unnecessarily. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that equals 33,600 kr a year. Review the subscription at every major change of tenant.
- Energy advice for housing cooperatives
Example: A housing cooperative (BRF) that installed a ground source heat pump often raised the main fuse for the immersion heater, which only runs on a few really cold days a year. With a subscribed capacity of 80 kW and a highest measured hour of 55 kW, there are 25 kW to cut. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that comes to 12,000 kr a year. Read more: Communal electricity and subscriptions in the cooperative.
- Energy advice for shops & retail
Example: A shop that has switched from halogen spotlights to LED often still has the main fuse that was needed for the old lighting. If the peak has gone from 40 to 22 kW, 50 A, which handles about 35 kW, is enough instead of 63 A. If the network operator's price list shows a difference of 2,500 kr a year between the steps, that is a direct saving. Have an electrician confirm that the margin is sufficient at opening time.
- Energy advice for grocery stores
Example: A grocery store using 500,000 kWh a year has a steady load from refrigeration and freezers. Peak-load hours, November–March on weekdays 06–22, amount to roughly 1,730 hours, a fifth of the hours in the year, so about 100,000 kWh falls in them. Every öre in peak-load price therefore costs around 1,000 kr a year. The store's highest power, on the other hand, often comes on a hot summer day when the refrigeration is running at full power. Read more: Capacity charges for grocery stores.
- Energy advice for agriculture & farming
Example: A farm where the grain dryer draws 120 kW for a few weeks in August–September but stays below 50 kW for the rest of the year. With an assumed price of 480 kr per kW per year, a 120 kW subscription costs 57,600 kr. A 50 kW subscription costs 24,000 kr, and if the excess usage over two months is charged at double price, 80 kr per kW per month, another 11,200 kr is added. That is 35,200 kr in total, or 22,400 kr less. Check how your network operator charges for excess usage before you choose.
- Energy advice for offices & serviced offices
Example: An office using 250,000 kWh a year uses most of its electricity on weekdays during the day, and in winter both lighting and ventilation run for longer. If 90,000 kWh falls in the peak-load hours, November–March 06–22, every öre in peak-load price costs 900 kr a year. For offices this is often the tariff that hits hardest, so ask the network operator to calculate the alternatives with your own meter data.
- Energy advice for logistics companies
Example: A terminal where 30 forklifts are put on charge at the 15:00 shift change can get a peak of 150 kW from charging alone, if each charger draws 5 kW. If the forklifts are split into three groups charged at different hours during the evening and night, the charging peak becomes 50 kW. A subscribed capacity 100 kW lower equals 48,000 kr a year with an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year. Read more: Power peaks: how to lower your grid fee.
- Energy advice for property managers
Example: A property manager with 15 properties finds in a review four where the subscribed capacity is too high, by 75 kW in total. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that is 36,000 kr a year. Since the subscription can often only be changed once a year and with one month's notice, the review should be a fixed part of the management plan, well ahead of the network operator's cut-off date.
- Energy advice for health centres
Example: A health centre that has expanded ventilation and cooling for new equipment has a subscribed capacity of 50 kW but reaches 56 kW seven months a year. With an assumed capacity price of 40 kr per kW per month and double price for excess usage, the excess usage comes to 6 × 80 × 7 = 3,360 kr a year. Raising the subscription by 6 kW costs 2,880 kr a year. When excess usage recurs, it is therefore cheaper to raise the subscription.
- Energy advice for hospitals
Example: A hospital with two incoming supplies has 1,400 kW subscribed on each and a combined peak of 2,400 kW. During maintenance on one supply, the entire load goes through the other, giving 1,000 kW of excess usage. With an assumed excess usage price of 80 kr per kW per month, that costs 80,000 kr that month. Ask the network operator in advance how planned switching and backup supply are charged.
- Energy advice for dental clinics
Example: A dental clinic using 40,000 kWh a year has a peak of 15 kW and should manage with 35 A, which gives about 8 kW per phase. But if the autoclave, compressor and suction are on the same phase and draw 9 kW there, that phase reaches about 39 A. Have an electrician distribute the load more evenly before the fuse is lowered. If the price list shows a difference of 3,000 kr a year between 50 and 35 A, the job soon pays for itself.
- Energy advice for care homes for the elderly
Example: In a care home, the peak often comes between 07:00 and 10:00, when the main kitchen prepares breakfast, the laundry starts and hot water is used for morning hygiene. If laundry with 24 kW of machines is moved to the afternoon, the highest hour falls by the same amount. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that equals 11,520 kr a year.
- Energy advice for haulage companies
Example: A haulage company acquiring two electric lorries can choose two 150 kW rapid chargers, that is 300 kW of extra power. If the lorries are at the depot for ten hours a night and need 300 kWh each, 30 kW per lorry is enough, 60 kW in total. The difference of 240 kW equals 115,200 kr a year with an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year. Contact the network operator early about capacity. Read more: Capacity charges for businesses.
- Energy advice for car dealerships
Example: A car dealer charges delivery cars with a 50 kW charger in the morning, while the workshop and showroom are drawing 70 kW. That gives a peak of around 120 kW. If the cars are instead charged after 16:00, when the workshop has wound down, the peak can fall by around 45 kW. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that equals 21,600 kr a year.
- Energy advice for car repair shops
Example: A car repair workshop with 80 A and a 55 kW capacity subscription has a highest measured hour of 30 kW. A 63 A fuse handles about 44 kW, so the workshop could become a fuse-based customer. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, the workshop pays 26,400 kr for capacity today. Compare with the network operator's fee for 63 A, but first have an electrician check the starting currents from the compressor and lifts.
- Energy advice for bakeries
Example: Three 40 kW ovens heating up in the same hour give 120 kW. Starting them ten minutes apart helps the fuse but hardly the capacity charge, because the network operator measures the average over the whole hour. If heating up is spread over three different hours and each oven then holds 15 kW, the highest hour becomes 70 kW. 50 kW lower equals 24,000 kr a year with an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year.
- Energy advice for gyms & fitness centres
Example: A gym has two electrically heated 9 kW water heaters that reheat immediately after the evening shower rush, while two 12 kW sauna heaters are on. That gives 42 kW from water and sauna alone. If the heaters can reheat after closing, and the tank volume is sufficient, the peak falls by 18 kW. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that equals 8,640 kr a year.
- Energy advice for spas & swimming centres
Example: A swimming centre using 1,500,000 kWh a year is often on a low-voltage subscription. At that volume, it is worth asking the network operator what a high-voltage connection would cost, both for the connection and for its own transformer. If the transmission fee becomes 4 öre lower per kWh, that equals 60,000 kr a year, which must be weighed against the investment and the responsibility for owning the equipment.
- Energy advice for camping & campsites
Example: A campsite often has separate metering points for the reception, service building, restaurant and rows of cabins. Four of them are used almost only in May–September but carry a fixed fee all year round. With an assumed fixed fee of 3,500 kr per metering point per year, they cost 14,000 kr a year. Ask an electrician whether some can be supplied from a shared metering point and what the rebuild would cost.
- Energy advice for warehouses
Example: In a warehouse, the door heaters run at full power while the doors are open during morning loading on a cold January weekday, right in the middle of peak-load hours. Six 9 kW door heaters give 54 kW. If the doors are kept closed between loadings and the heaters only need to run at half power, the peak falls by 27 kW. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that equals 12,960 kr a year.
- Energy advice for schools & preschools
Example: A school using 400,000 kWh a year has installed solar panels covering 60,000 kWh, or 15 per cent of consumption over the year. But the peak comes on a dark weekday morning in January when the solar panels produce almost nothing. The subscribed capacity should therefore not be lowered because of the solar panels, but based on the winter peak in the meter data.
- Energy advice for server halls & data centres
Example: A data centre with a steady load of 1,200 kW, about 10.5 million kWh a year, has subscribed 2,000 kW for a future expansion. That is 800 kW paid for every year without being used. With an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year, that comes to 384,000 kr. Ask the network operator whether capacity can be reserved in another way, and raise the subscription when the racks are actually in place.
- Energy advice for refrigeration plants
Example: A cold storage facility with six freezer rooms and 12 kW of electric defrosting per room can get 72 kW extra if all of them defrost in the same hour. If defrosting is set at different hours so that no more than two rooms defrost at the same time, the addition becomes 24 kW. A peak 48 kW lower equals 23,040 kr a year with an assumed capacity price of 480 kr per kW per year.
- Energy advice for churches & parishes
Example: A church heated ahead of a weekday funeral draws 150 kW for eight hours, 1,200 kWh in total. If heating starts earlier at 100 kW for twelve hours, the energy is the same but the peak is 50 kW lower, and more of the consumption falls outside the peak-load hours of 06–22. Weekend services already fall outside peak-load hours. Read more: Churches and heating.