Setting Up Utilities in Sweden: Electricity, Heating and Broadband

You have the keys to a Swedish apartment or house and now need power, heat, hot water and internet. Sweden splits these in a way that confuses most new arrivals: some utilities are baked into your rent, electricity is split into two bills from two different companies, and broadband often depends on a fibre network you don't control. This guide tells you exactly what you pay for, what your landlord pays for, and the steps to get connected.

The single most useful fact: for electricity you pay two separate companies — one you choose, one you don't.

Electricity: two bills, not one

Your electricity cost has two parts that arrive as two contracts:

1. Elhandelsavtal (electricity supply contract) — what you pay for the actual electricity you use. You choose this supplier (elhandelsbolag) freely and can switch any time.
2. Elnätsavtal (grid contract) — the nätavgift (grid fee) for transporting electricity to your home over the local network. This goes to your elnätsföretag (grid company), which is fixed by your address. You cannot shop around for it.

The grid fee itself has a fixed part (a subscription based partly on the size of your main fuse) and a variable part charged per kilowatt-hour. The grid company's total allowed revenue is capped by the regulator, Energimarknadsinspektionen (the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate, Ei). So you only have a real choice on the supply side — but that choice still matters, because the supply portion is where prices vary most.

If you do nothing, you get assigned a default price

If you move in and never sign a supply contract, you are automatically put on an anvisat avtal (assigned/default contract) from a supplier tied to your grid area. This is almost always more expensive than a contract you choose yourself, so treat it as a temporary state, not a plan. The good news: a default contract has a short notice period — by rule no longer than 14 days — so you can leave it quickly once you pick a real one.

Spot price vs fixed price: which contract to sign

Swedish supply contracts come in two main shapes:

Two things to know before choosing:

• Your price area drives the spot price. Sweden has four electricity price areas (elområden): SE1 (far north, Luleå) and SE2 are usually cheapest, SE3 (Stockholm, Gothenburg) is mid, and SE4 (Malmö, the south) is typically the most expensive because of transmission bottlenecks between north and south. You can check which area your address falls in on Energimarknadsbyrån's site.
• A fixed contract can carry a break fee. Leaving a fast avtal early can trigger a brytavgift (break fee). A rörligt avtal usually only needs a short notice period to cancel. Read the term length before signing.

To compare suppliers neutrally, use the independent, free guidance from Energimarknadsbyrån (the Swedish Consumer Energy Markets Bureau) rather than a commission-driven comparison site.

How to switch (or set up) your electricity supplier

1. Confirm whether you even need to. Check your rental contract — see what a Swedish rental contract must spell out about included utilities. If electricity is included, skip this entirely.
2. Find your details. You need your address and your anläggnings-ID / mätarnummer (facility ID / meter number), usually printed on a grid-company letter or your meter.
3. Pick a supplier and contract type (rörligt or fast) based on your price area.
4. Sign up directly with the supplier. Your new elhandelsbolag notifies your grid company for you — you do not contact the grid company yourself.
5. Allow lead time. A switch can take up to about a month, so start at least a few working days ahead. When you are moving in, the contract can start from your move-in date as long as the supplier notifies the grid company in time.

Switching supply is normally free. You will still keep getting a separate grid-fee bill from the grid company — that never changes with a switch.

Heating and water: usually your landlord's job

This is where Sweden is easy on tenants. The vast majority of Swedish apartment buildings — around 90% — are heated by fjärrvärme (district heating), where hot water is piped in from a central plant. In a typical first-hand apartment rental, heating, hot and cold water, and rubbish collection are included in the rent, and the landlord or housing association handles the fjärrvärme contract. You will rarely set up heating or water yourself.

Watch for these exceptions:

• Renting a house is often on "cold rent" (kallhyra), meaning you pay heating and water on top of the rent.
• Owning a bostadsrätt (co-op apartment) means the housing association (bostadsrättsförening) usually covers building heating and water through your monthly fee (avgift) — but confirm what the avgift includes.
• You cannot always control the heat. With district heating in a rental or co-op, the landlord or board often decides when heating is turned on for the season.

Swedish tenancy law guarantees a reasonable standard, including heating plus hot and cold water, so a landlord cannot simply leave you cold. If in doubt about what is included, that detail belongs in your written contract — see the find-an-apartment guide for what to verify before signing.

Broadband and fibre: choose your provider, sometimes not your network

Most Swedish homes connect via fiber (fibre). The catch is that the physical fibre into the building is often owned by one network operator (a stadsnät, a municipal network, or a private one), and you then choose an internet service provider that sells over that network. So:

• In many apartments the fibre is already installed and you simply order service from one of the providers available on that network.
• In a house, you may need to order a fibre installation first, which can take time — start early.
• Some buildings include broadband in the rent or the co-op fee through a gruppavtal (group agreement); check before paying for a separate plan.

For who the major providers are and how to compare speeds and prices, see the dedicated internet providers guide.

Common problems and fixes

• You're being charged a sky-high default rate. You're on an anvisat avtal. Sign a real contract now; the default has a notice period of no more than 14 days, so you can leave fast.
• You signed up but still get two bills and think it's a mistake. It isn't. Two bills — supply and grid — is normal and correct in Sweden. Only the supply bill changes when you switch supplier.
• A "great deal" wants to lock you into a long fixed term. Check the brytavgift before signing; an early exit from a fast avtal can be costly. A rörligt avtal keeps you flexible.
• No internet for weeks after moving into a house. Fibre installation is the bottleneck, not the ISP. Order the connection before move-in if you can.
• You can't get heating turned on in autumn. With district heating you usually can't — the landlord or co-op board controls the seasonal switch-on. Raise it with them, not the energy company.

Do this in your first week

Open your rental or co-op contract and find the line listing what's included. If electricity is not included, look up your elområde on Energimarknadsbyrån, pick a rörligt or fast contract, and sign up directly with a supplier — they'll handle the grid company. If you're unsure whether heating, water or broadband are covered, email your landlord and get the answer in writing before you pay for anything twice.