Swedish committee challenges EU plans for electricity charges

Sweden’s parliamentary Industry Committee wants MPs to object to parts of an EU proposal on electricity bills, arguing that Brussels has not shown why network charges and energy-tax rules need to be decided at EU level.

The committee’s assessment, published on 15 October, concerns proposals intended to make electricity more affordable by reducing system costs and using existing grids more efficiently.

The Commission proposes more detailed rules for network tariffs—the charges customers pay to connect to and use the grid. Its package also includes more favourable taxation of electricity than natural gas and possible reduced electricity-tax rates for energy-intensive businesses.

The committee supports more efficient electricity networks. Its objection concerns who should make these particular rules: it says the Commission has not sufficiently demonstrated that member states cannot achieve the aims themselves.

MPs in the Riksdag are scheduled to debate and decide on 21 October whether to send a formal objection. The committee’s recommendation has not changed anyone’s electricity charges.

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