Here’s why your power bills are getting more expensive

The electricity spot price in the Nordics hit 0.63 kronor per kilowatt hour ($0.07) on Sunday, significantly higher than the same period last year.

“It's a bit of a weather phenomenon. It is cold and that drives consumption,” Faraz Axima, CEO of electricity site Elskling told Swedish news agency TT on Monday morning.

The cold, dry and calm weather means that Sweden's wind power plants are currently producing very little electricity. The shortage of water after a warm summer also helps explain the higher-than-normal prices.

Meanwhile, coal production has become more expensive because of emission allowance regulations, which means that the electricity that Sweden imports from abroad is also pricier.

In 2018 the average yearly price was registered as 0.46 kronor per kilowatt hour, an increase by 60 percent on the year before. Add to that increased electricity grid charges, also hitting consumers' wallets.

But if the weather changes, so will the cost of electricity.

“If we get far more than normal precipitation for two months we will recover the deficit and be less dependent on the outside world,” said Azima.