Rarely used churches and chapels: reduce fixed electricity costs

Buildings that cost money even when empty

Many parishes have churches and chapels that are used only a few times a year: a summer church, a cemetery chapel, a church opened for funerals and major holidays. Consumption may be low, but the electricity bill is rarely zero.

This is because a large part of the cost is fixed. The grid company charges for the connection regardless of how much electricity is used, and the retailer may charge a monthly fee per facility. On top of that comes the base heating maintained through the winter.

For a rarely used building, fixed fees can make up a large share of the total electricity cost. They are also the part that can most often be influenced without changing how the building is used.

What makes up the fixed cost?

• Fixed grid fee (nätavgift). An annual amount determined by the fuse size or, for larger connections, by subscribed capacity in kr/kW.
• Capacity charge (effektavgift). Some grid companies charge based on peak demand. Several grid companies have paused or removed the capacity charge for fuse customers at 16–63 A during 2026, while others have kept it. Paused is not the same as removed.
• Fixed fee in the supply contract. A monthly fee per facility, sometimes an invoice fee.
• Base heating and other base load. Heating, dehumidification, emergency lighting, alarms and sometimes outdoor lighting that run all year round.

Fuse size

The fuse was sized when the church got its current heating system, sometimes long ago. If the heating has since been replaced, if electric radiators have been supplemented with a heat pump or if the church is used less, the fuse may be larger than needed.

Going one step down in fuse size can lower the fixed grid fee every year. But the fuse must be sufficient for the highest load that actually occurs, which is often when the church is being heated ahead of a service or ceremony. A fuse that trips during a funeral is a bigger problem than a slightly higher grid fee.

So do this:

1. Request hourly values for the past two years from the grid company.
2. Find the highest hour. It almost always falls during heating ahead of a service or ceremony on a cold day.
3. Have a qualified electrical installer assess whether a smaller fuse is sufficient, with a margin for starting heating and fans.
4. Ask the grid company what the change costs and what the new fixed fee will be. Changing a fuse may involve a one-off fee and conditions on how often it can be done.

Example: A chapel building uses 12,000 kWh per year. In this worked example, the fixed grid fee for the current fuse is 9,000 kr per year, and 5,500 kr for one step down. The retailer's monthly fee is 60 kr, which is 720 kr per year. Lowering the fuse saves 3,500 kr per year. The fee for the change should be weighed against that amount. Check your own levels in the grid company's price list, as prices differ greatly between grid companies.

Metering points

Review all metering points the parish pays for. It is common to find:

• Separate metering points for the church, mortuary, storage and outdoor lighting on the same plot
• Metering points for buildings that are no longer used or have been sold
• Old connections for a site hut or a temporary event that were never terminated

Each metering point has its own fixed grid fee and often its own fee with the retailer. If two metering points on the same property can be merged into one, a whole fixed fee may be saved, but merging requires electrical work and the grid company's cooperation. Calculate the payback period.

A metering point for a building that has been fully decommissioned can often be terminated. First check that nothing, such as an alarm or frost protection, still needs power.

Base heating in rarely used buildings

In a rarely used church, base heating is often the largest part of consumption. Several parishes have lowered the base temperature sharply in churches that are rarely used and in some cases switched off the heating entirely during parts of the winter, controlling humidity instead. This can halve consumption in the buildings concerned, but it must be done with regard to moisture, furnishings and the organ. Read more in Base heating in the church.

Changing the heating strategy also affects capacity. A cold church that is heated quickly before a funeral can produce a higher peak than a church kept at a moderate temperature. This in turn affects which fuse is needed. So make the heating decision first and the fuse decision afterwards.

The supply contract for small facilities

Small facilities are often forgotten in procurement. Make sure all metering points, even the smallest, are included in the parish's consolidated contract with the same terms and the same end date. That way, small facilities are not left on more expensive terms after an automatic renewal. See Electricity contracts for churches and parishes and renewal traps in electricity contracts.

Checklist for each rarely used building

• How many times a year is the building used, and in which months?
• What fuse or subscribed capacity does it have, and what is the fixed grid fee?
• What was the peak hourly load over the past two years, and when did it occur?
• Are there more metering points on the same property?
• What fixed fees does the retailer charge?
• What base temperature is maintained, and who decided it?
• What needs power all year round: alarms, dehumidifiers, emergency lighting?

What you can do today

Pull last year's grid invoice for a rarely used building and split the amount into fixed and variable parts. If the fixed part is larger than the variable part, the building is a good candidate for a review of fuse and metering points. Then continue with the checklist above, building by building. See also Grid contract checklist.

Savera can review the parish's grid subscriptions and metering points and identify where fixed costs can be reduced.