– We're talking about roughly five million households and around ten billion kronor, says Nils Öberg, Director-General of Försäkringskassan. For a house consuming 5,000 kilowatt-hours, the subsidy could range from about 3,600 to over 5,000 kronor, depending on whether it is in northern or southern Sweden.
Försäkringskassan has been tasked by the government to distribute the funds based on customer data provided by Svenska kraftnät.
– By June 9th, we feel confident that we will have made all the payments. However, just like last time, this is contingent on no unforeseen events occurring in the coming weeks, says Öberg.
He advises those who have not received their funds by June 9th to wait at least until midsummer before inquiring.
Payments will begin slightly earlier than June 9th, but for security reasons, Öberg will not disclose the exact start date.
– When we start and which days we make payments, we won't reveal. We don't want to make it easy for anyone who might have an interest in sabotaging the process.
The person named on the electricity contract as of December 31st will receive the funds. If that person has, or registers, an account with Swedbank and has previously received compensation from Försäkringskassan or funds from the Pensions Agency, they do not need to take any further action.
Be aware of scammers
As before, Försäkringskassan issues a warning against fraudsters. No one from Swedbank, other banks, Försäkringskassan, or the Pensions Agency will call, email, or request information to make the subsidy payment. Anyone receiving such a call should hang up immediately.
– The message deserves to be repeated, says Öberg, drawing from experience in previous instances.
During the weeks around the February-March period, Försäkringskassan distributed the first round of electricity support. Households in southern Sweden received nearly 17 billion kronor in aid for the period from October 2021 to September 2022. These billions were taken from the bottleneck charges accumulated by Svenska kraftnät.
Households and businesses in southern Sweden have paid the majority of these bottleneck charges. These charges are levied when electricity must be transferred from one area with lower prices to another with higher prices.
This time, the subsidy will be distributed to all households with individual electricity contracts in Sweden, including those in northern Sweden. The subsidy is meant to compensate for electricity prices in November and December of last year, covering 80% of consumption. It amounts to 90 öre per kilowatt-hour in the north and 126 or 129 öre/kWh in areas 3 and 4.
Compared to the first round of household support, the government has set a much lower cap for compensation. No funds will be given for consumption over 18,000 kWh.
The first round of support was criticized for providing high subsidies to businesses, such as farms, which had electricity contracts through households. The highest subsidy payment exceeded 700,000 kronor.
Other businesses in southern Sweden will receive their electricity support no earlier than June. Försäkringskassan, based on the information available, cannot distinguish between regular households and those with business operations on a consumer electricity contract. However, controls will be conducted retrospectively.