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ENERGY

UPDATED: What do we know about Sweden’s energy subsidy?

Sweden's government is offering two energy subsidies this spring, one which will only be for users in southern Sweden, and one which will be offered to all Swedish residents. So, how will they work?

Published: 27 October 2022 16:46 CEST
Updated: 1 February 2023 12:49 CET
UPDATED: What do we know about Sweden's energy subsidy?
A bakery in Kalmar would receive 52,140 kronor in subsidies under the new scheme. The bakery, in this picture, is in Stockholm. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

Who is eligible?

There are two separate energy subsidies in the works, let’s call them energy subsidy 1 and energy subsidy 2.

Energy subsidy 1 (the subsidy announced in November 2022) will be available for energy users in energy zones 3 and 4 (most of southern Sweden), who had their own energy contract on November 17th, 2022. This means both houses and apartments, as well as companies and organisations (although it’s unclear when the latter two groups will receive their payout). This will be paid out on February 20th.

If you live in a cooperative housing association (a BRF) where your electricity bill is included in your monthly fee, the payment will go to the association instead, as the electricity contract is between the BRF and the energy company.

Energy subsidy 2 (announced in January 2023) will be available to energy users in all zones with their own energy contract.

How do I know which energy zone I am in?

Energy zone 1 – the cheapest energy zone – is in the far north of Sweden, and it includes Norrbotten county and part of Västerbotten county.

Energy zone 2 is slightly further south, and it includes Jämtland county, Västernorrland county, and parts of Gävleborg and Västerbotten counties.

Energy zone 3 covers central Sweden, encompassing Stockholm and Gothenburg, as well as Stockholm county, Södermanland county, Uppsala county, Värmland county, Västmanland county, Örebro county, Östergötland county, Dalarna county, and parts of Halland, Kalmar, Jönköping, Västra Götaland, and Gävleborg counties.

Energy zone 4 – the most expensive zone – includes Malmö, Skåne, Blekinge, Kronoberg, and parts of Kalmar, Halland, Jönköping and Västra Götaland counties.

How is it calculated?

It’s not yet clear exactly how the second energy subsidy will be calculated, as a system for paying out the subsidy needs to be put forward by relevant authorities and approved before it can be implemented, but the first energy subsidy will be calculated in the following way:

Firstly, which zone is the user or property based in? Each zone will offer a different payout per kWh.

Secondly, how high was the user’s energy usage between October 2021 and September 2022?

For those in energy zone 3, the subsidy will cover 50 öre per kWh used in that 12 month period. For those in energy zone 4, the subsidy will cover 79 öre per kWh over the same period.

This could mean energy users on a fixed tariff who paid lower than this per kWh in the qualifying period receive more money back than they originally paid.

Again, details for the second energy subsidy have not yet been confirmed, but it’s safe to say that the chance there will be different payout rates per kWh for different zones is high.

The second energy subsidy will cover usage between November and December 2022, as prices were particularly high during these two months.

How much will I get?

It’s difficult to say as it depends so much on individual usage, but here are some examples from a Svenska kraftnät press release explaining the first energy subsidy:

  • A tennis club in Halland with an energy usage of 45,000 kWh over the qualifying period will receive a 35,500 kronor subsidy (45,000 x 0.79 = 35,550).
  • A house owner in Örebro with an energy usage of 19,500 kWh over the qualifying period will receive a 9,750 kronor subsidy (19,500 x 0.50 = 9,750).
  • A bakery in Kalmar with an energy usage of 66,000 kWh over the qualifying period will receive a 52,140 kronor subsidy (66,000 x 0.79 = 52,140).

Regarding the second energy subsidy, again, details of the subsidy payout are not yet clear.

Having said that, an estimate by energy traders Godel on behalf of TT newswire, based on an average yearly usage of 20,000 kWh, with more energy used in the colder months, predicts the following:

Users in energy zones 1 and 2 can expect a total of around 3,800 kronor for November and December, with users in zones 3 receiving around 5,350 kronor and users in zone 4 receiving around 5,480 kronor for the same period.

Obviously, these figures aren’t final, and if you use less than 20,000 kWh per year (if you live in an apartment, for example), or your usage was lower than average in November and December, you’ll receive a smaller payout.

In addition to this, Energy and Business Minister Ebba Busch said on January 9th, 2023, when she announced the second price subsidy, that there could be an upper usage limit on the second energy subsidy, meaning that users could only receive support for usage up to a certain amount.

When will it come into effect?

The first energy price subsidy is due to be paid out in February 2023, the government has stated, although the date of payout for businesses and organisations is still unclear.

The second energy price subsidy will be paid out “at some point this spring”, Busch said.

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WORK PERMITS

Sweden’s Migration Agency rejects role in work permit salary threshold exemption plan

Sweden's Migration Agency has rejected a call for it to be responsible for drawing up a list of in-demand skills and professions exempted from the coming median-salary requirement for a work permit.

Published: 25 June 2024 12:02 CEST
Sweden's Migration Agency rejects role in work permit salary threshold exemption plan

In the conclusions to a government inquiry into setting the median salary threshold, judge Ann-Jeanette Eriksson proposed that the Migration Agency be made responsible for drawing up annual national and regional lists of professions which should be exempted from the threshold.

The list of proposed exemptions could then, she recommended, either be passed to the government for a final decision, or else apply immediately. 

In its response to consultation, the Migration Agency said that it did not believe that it was the right agency to draw up the list. 

“The Migration Agency considers that the task of preparing these proposals should be given to the Swedish Public Employment Service which is the expert agency on labour market issues,” the agency said. 

“As the expert agency, the Swedish Public Employment Service has much broader competence when it comes to judging the demand for labour.”

The employment service could then consult the Migration Agency and other relevant agencies before passing the list to the government, it recommended. 

READ ALSO:

The Swedish Public Employment Service did not echo the Migration Agency’s call in its own response. 

It did, however, recommend an alternative system proposed by Eriksson, under which the Migration Agency, rather than the government, would have the final say on which jobs should be exempted. 

“The alternative proposal would mean a simpler process and shorter handling time”, the service said. 

The Migration Agency, however, said it did not support this alternative proposal, without giving any reasons for this.

It did call for a consideration over “whether it might be necessary to consult with other authorities before the proposals are made to the government”.

The agency also called for more specific language on what “considerations around migration law” it should apply when deciding on which professions to exempt. 

In some of its comments on the detail or proposals, the Migration Agency highlighted that the law should specify that work permit applicants need to be offered a salary that meets or exceeds Sweden’s median salary “at the time of application”, and also called for more specifics on how to define a “monthly salary”.

  • Don’t miss any Swedish work permit news from The Local by downloading our app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting Work Permits in your Notification options via the User button

Eriksson also recommended that Migration Agency be tasked with deciding which industries should be entirely excluded from the work permit system because they have historically had problems with the exploitation of labour migrants and abuse of the work permit system.  

“The possibility of excluding certain groups of jobs is an important tool in the work against exploitation in the workplace,” the agency said of this proposal.

But it said that to carry out this task properly, it would need more information on what criteria should be applied when making such exclusions as well as increased powers to cooperate and share information with other agencies involved in combatting exploitation and abuse in the workplace. 

“For this work to be even more effective, more tools are needed that enable more thorough controls. This is both about developing regulations that provide the Migration Agency with wider powers to carry out checks that facilitate cooperation and information exchange between relevant authorities and organisations,” it said. 

When it comes to the impact of the proposals on its own internal workings, the agency said it agreed broadly with the Eriksson’s judgement that they would not increase the workload at the agency.

The extra work required to carry out its new tasks would, it said, be largely offset by the lower work load following from the proposed abolition of the spårbyte, or “track change” system which allows rejected asylum seekers to stay in the country and apply for work permits. 

It did warn, however, that the changes could lead to even longer processing times for work permit applications. 

“The Migration Agency would like to highlight that the proposed changes to the law, and in particular the salary threshold and the regional and national exemptions from this threshold might affect handling times for work permit cases,” it wrote. 

“The regulatory framework around labour migration is already complex today and involves several decision points. Judging whether an application concerns a job for which there is a national or regional shortage will require a new decision point which will require education and preparation.” 

To reduce the extra demand on resources, the agency called on the government to make the regulation “as precise as possible”, leaving as little room as possible for different interpretations, which would then allow the agency to speed up processing and even digitalise some decisions. 

If the plans to raise the work permit salary threshold from 80 percent of the median salary to 100 percent go through, the idea is that they would come into effect in June next year (although work permit holders renewing their permits would get a one-year grace period).

But the proposal has received a slew of criticism from Swedish business organisations, which argue that it would make it harder to fill essential roles and attract international talent.

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