Many Swedes are unknowingly paying up to 4,600 SEK extra annually due to not actively choosing their electricity contracts. Expert Anne By Nazemi highlights the importance of reviewing electricity agreements to avoid costly default contracts.
Hidden Electricity Contracts Costing Swedes Thousands
Hidden Electricity Contracts Costing Swedes Thousands
An increasing number of Swedes are neglecting their electricity contracts, leading to potentially sky-high bills. More than 400,000 risk overpaying by up to 4,600 SEK each year. "That's money that could be spent on more enjoyable things," says electricity expert Anne By Nazemi.
Many Swedes ignore signing electricity contracts, which can become an expensive oversight. Those who do not actively choose a contract receive a default agreement from their network provider, typically the most expensive option.
Comparison site Elskling, using statistics from SCB, reveals that 423,000 Swedes are neglecting to sign electricity contracts, as previously reported by Dagens industri.
This figure is 15,000 more than the same time last year.
"It's crucial to check your costs, or it could end up being a lot of money," says Anne By Nazemi, an electricity expert at Elskling.
She believes the reason many avoid signing contracts is due to a lack of knowledge and the perception that it's complicated.
"I think people generally find it boring and complicated, so they tend to postpone it. Many probably forget, especially when moving and neglecting to compare and sign contracts," she says.
Save Thousands of Kronor
Elskling, with statistical help, calculated the difference in various electricity areas between a variable contract and a default contract.
Passive electricity customers generally pay 10-26% more for the same electricity, resulting in increased costs of between 900 and 4,600 SEK annually, depending on where in the country they live. These differences apply to the first half of the year.
"That's money that could be spent on more enjoyable things," says Anne By Nazemi.
Most Expensive in the North
It's primarily in the north where people with default contracts pay more than the average.
For a homeowner with an average consumption of 20,000 kWh per year, this would mean an extra cost of over 4,600 SEK. Those living in apartments pay 930 SEK more with an annual electricity consumption of 5,000 kWh.
"Electricity is cheaper in the northern parts of Sweden compared to the southern parts. We think it might not be as noticeable there. People don't notice when the electricity bill arrives," says Anne By Nazemi.
The smallest difference is in electricity area four, which includes Skåne, Blekinge, and southern Småland. There, the difference between variable and default contracts is just under ten percent. A homeowner pays over 3,100 SEK more, and an apartment dweller about 860 SEK more per year, assuming the same annual electricity consumption as above.
How to Approach It
Anne By Nazemi advises those wanting to review their electricity contracts to start by looking at their electricity bill.
"There you can see what kind of contract you have, what the costs are, surcharges, monthly fees, and so on. You can use this as a basis when comparing electricity contracts," she says.
Based on this information, one can then decide whether to sign a variable or fixed-price contract.
"Then, of course, you should choose based on your circumstances whether a fixed or variable electricity contract suits you best. You should think about it like you do with interest rates," says Anne By Nazemi.