Sweden electricity market

Sweden. Status: operational; first 2025/26 strategic-reserve tender cancelled, then re-tendered.

Wholesale design: Four Nordic bidding zones, shared Nordic reserve products and an out-of-market strategic reserve.

Market type
Jurisdictional market
Operators
Svenska kraftnät · Nord Pool
Dispatch model
self-dispatch within Nordic balancing
Where energy trades

Where does energy trade in Sweden electricity market?

Energy in Sweden electricity market trades in 3 layers: Nordic energy market, Nordic balancing and strategic reserve.

What a battery can sell

What ancillary services can a battery sell in Sweden electricity market?

Sweden electricity market has 6 ancillary-service products, across 4 families — frequency containment, automatic frequency restoration, manual frequency restoration and inertia & system strength: Nordic automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve; Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances, downward; Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances, upward; Frequency Containment Reserve for Normal operation; Fast Frequency Reserve; Nordic manual Frequency Restoration Reserve. Response timing, direction and eligibility for each are in the table below; a product's full record lists the official sources behind it.

Every value below comes from the official sources listed in that product's full record. Most products cite more than one, and the published sources do not say which of them states each individual value, so the binding is to the product's record rather than to a single document. A missing line means the source does not state that value — never that the value is zero.

Scroll the table sideways for the rest of the columns →

6 ancillary-service products in Sweden electricity market, grouped into 4 families. Each row runs left to right through one product's life: how it activates, how quickly it has to respond, how long it has to keep delivering, and how it is bought.
Service How it activates Response Sustained delivery Procurement
Frequency containment
Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances, downward FCR-D down downward operational Response type automatic post-fault frequency response Trigger over-frequency disturbance response curve Response checkpoint 7.5 s (86% of response) Minimum obligation at least 20 min System requirement — approximate 1400 MW Bought national day-ahead and/or longer-term markets How it settles capacity payment under national arrangements Pricing design national rules Counted as the Nordic total, not the Swedish allocation
Full record for Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances, downward — page or table locator recorded
What it is for

Contain over-frequency after a major disturbance.

Where it sits

national procurement of Nordic FCR-D down

Where it applies

Bidding zones: SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4

Published checkpoints

Response checkpoint: 7.5 s (86% of response)

Who can provide it

Nordic prequalification and national BSP registration

Notes from the source

The 7.5-second checkpoint is a measurement point, not the point of full activation.

Status of this product

Operational in 2025

Checkpoint recap

Minimum sustained 20 min

What the source does not state

The source states a minimum delivery period and a procurement volume. It does not state a response deadline of its own or a maximum duration. It does publish a response checkpoint, listed with the other checkpoints in this record.

Sources
Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances, upward FCR-D up upward operational Response type automatic post-fault frequency response Trigger under-frequency disturbance response curve Response checkpoint 7.5 s (86% of response) Minimum obligation at least 20 min System requirement — approximate 1450 MW Bought national day-ahead and/or longer-term markets How it settles capacity payment under national arrangements Pricing design national rules Counted as the Nordic total, not the Swedish allocation
Full record for Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances, upward — page or table locator recorded
What it is for

Contain under-frequency after a major disturbance.

Where it sits

national procurement of Nordic FCR-D up

Where it applies

Bidding zones: SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4

Published checkpoints

Response checkpoint: 7.5 s (86% of response)

Who can provide it

Nordic prequalification and national BSP registration

Notes from the source

The 7.5-second checkpoint is a measurement point, not the point of full activation.

Status of this product

Operational in 2025

Checkpoint recap

Minimum sustained 20 min

What the source does not state

The source states a minimum delivery period and a procurement volume. It does not state a response deadline of its own or a maximum duration. It does publish a response checkpoint, listed with the other checkpoints in this record.

Sources
Frequency Containment Reserve for Normal operation FCR-N symmetric up and down operational Response type automatic proportional pre-fault frequency response Trigger 49.9-50.1 Hz normal-operation band Response checkpoint 60 s (63% of response) System requirement 600 MW Bought national day-ahead and/or longer-term markets How it settles capacity payment; energy and imbalance treatment varies nationally Pricing design national pay-as-bid or marginal arrangements Counted as the Nordic total, not the Swedish allocation
Full record for Frequency Containment Reserve for Normal operation — page or table locator recorded
What it is for

Continuously regulate small Nordic frequency deviations in normal operation.

Where it sits

national procurement of Nordic FCR-N

Where it applies

Bidding zones: SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4

Published checkpoints

Response checkpoint: 60 s (63% of response) · Response checkpoint: 3 min (95% of response)

Who can provide it

Nordic prequalification and national BSP registration

Notes from the source

Total need is a Nordic dimensioning value, not each country's awarded volume.

Status of this product

Operational in 2025

What the source does not state

The source states a procurement volume. It does not state a response deadline of its own or how long delivery has to be sustained. It does publish a response checkpoint, listed with the other checkpoints in this record.

Sources
Automatic frequency restoration
Nordic automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve aFRR separate upward and downward operational Response type automatic AGC/set-point response Trigger TSO activation signal Full activation 5 min System requirement — approximate 250 MW Bought national procurement coordinated in the Nordic market How it settles capacity and activated energy Pricing design national/common market rules by product and period Counted as a dynamic Nordic total, not the Swedish award
Full record for Nordic automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve — page or table locator recorded
What it is for

Automatically restore Nordic frequency and balance after FCR action.

Where it sits

Nordic/national aFRR capacity procurement

Where it applies

Bidding zones: SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4

Published checkpoints

Regional implementation, full activation: 5 min

Who can provide it

prequalified BSPs

Notes from the source

The Nordic requirement is dynamic and should not be treated as a fixed annual procurement.

Status of this product

Operational in 2025

Checkpoint recap

Full activation 5 min

What the source does not state

The source states the full-activation requirement and a procurement volume. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained.

Sources
Manual frequency restoration
Nordic manual Frequency Restoration Reserve mFRRregulating power separate upward and downward operational; automated Nordic mFRR energy-activation market launched 4 March 2025 Response type manual or automated dispatch of scheduled/direct activation bids Trigger TSO balancing-energy activation Full activation 750 s Bought national capacity procurement and common Nordic energy-activation market How it settles capacity where procured plus activated energy Pricing design capacity rules national; energy merit-order activation Counted as national capacity and activation, not a regional total
Full record for Nordic manual Frequency Restoration Reserve — page or table locator recorded
What it is for

Restore balance and release faster reserves using manual or automated TSO dispatch.

Where it sits

Nordic mFRR energy activation plus national/trilateral capacity procurement

Where it applies

Bidding zones: SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4

Published checkpoints

Regional implementation, maximum full activation: 750 s

Who can provide it

prequalified BSPs

Notes from the source

Norway also procures a national disturbance variant (mFRR-D); this record describes the common product family.

Status of this product

Operational from 4 March 2025

Checkpoint recap

Full activation 750 s

What the source does not state

The source states the full-activation requirement. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which.

Sources
Inertia & system strength
Fast Frequency Reserve FFRFFR ProfileFFR Flex upward operational when needed Response type automatic post-fault frequency-triggered response Trigger procured only when forecast Nordic inertia makes it necessary; activation threshold/profile depends on product variant Representative value 1 s Maximum stated 5 s to 30 s Bought national TSO tenders when the Nordic need is forecast How it settles availability under national procurement and performance rules Pricing design national tender rules Counted as a national share that moves, and is not published as a standing figure
Full record for Fast Frequency Reserve — page or table locator recorded
What it is for

Arrest rapid frequency decline in low-inertia Nordic operating conditions before FCR-D fully responds.

Where it sits

national procurement of Nordic FFR

Where it applies

Bidding zones: SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4

Who can provide it

prequalified fast storage, demand, generation or other resources

Notes from the source

FFR variants have different frequency thresholds and activation times; use national tender conditions for bidding.

This is a representative value for the product family. The exact activation requirement depends on the contracted threshold and profile, so treat it as indicative rather than as one universal deadline

Status of this product

Operational when needed in 2025

Checkpoint recap

Minimum sustained 5 s · Maximum sustained 30 s

What the source does not state

The source states a maximum delivery duration. It does not state a response time, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which.

Sources
Getting paid to exist

Does Sweden electricity market have a capacity mechanism?

Sweden electricity market has 1 capacity/adequacy arrangement: Swedish strategic reserve. The official sources do not say whether it is a central capacity market.

Swedish strategic reserve

first 2025/26 tender cancelled because all bids exceeded the cap; re-tender launched in 2025 and 350 MW contracted from 15 January to 15 March 2026

Svenska kraftnät procures an out-of-market reserve for winter adequacy under EU-approved rules.

competitive tender up to a specified volume and price cap

Unit of obligation
remain available for exceptional activation during contracted winter dates
Auction held in 2025
No — The 2025 process was cancelled or produced no held auction.

Nordic mFRR and FCR are normal balancing markets.

tendered availability payment; final re-tender contract price was not disclosed in the cited announcement

Revenue routes

Merchant revenue routes

  • energy
  • Nordic ancillary services
  • strategic-reserve contract if selected
Where this comes from

Official sources

Capacity-mechanism explainer

Current as of · from the Global Electricity Market Catalogue v1.2.0 (compiled to , CC BY 4.0, rendered here with wording edited for readability). Facts belong to the linked official authorities; verify the current rules before design or bidding decisions.

Questions

Common questions about Sweden electricity market

Who operates Sweden electricity market?
Sweden electricity market covers Sweden and is operated by Svenska kraftnät and Nord Pool.
Was a qualifying capacity event held in Sweden electricity market in 2025?
No. Swedish strategic reserve: no qualifying 2025 event is recorded. The 2025 process was cancelled or produced no held auction.
How is energy traded, priced and settled in Sweden electricity market?
Sweden electricity market: Four Nordic bidding zones, shared Nordic reserve products and an out-of-market strategic reserve. Dispatch — self-dispatch within Nordic balancing.
Keep exploring

Every market, one map.

The markets index holds the full set. For what the grid demands of a battery here, see the grid-code ride-through atlas.

All electricity markets