– Fantasy sums – that’s my entire pension, says Carina Tvedahl-Lernsten.
Now the electricity bills for December have started to be sent out, and for Carina Tvedahl-Lernsten and her wife Anette Lernsten, the bill landed at SEK 10,489, for a consumption of 2,245 kWh during the month.
And according to electricity market analyst Christian Holtz, it is approximately the price that a December bill for a normal-sized villa in southern Sweden lands at, based on how the prices look now.
– We both have sickness benefits, we can’t afford such expensive electricity bills, says Anette Lernsten. Some may think we could have a lower consumption, but this old house leaks heat.
– We have reduced as much as we can on lights, heating, washing and other things, says Carina Tvedahl-Lernsten.
Over 200 öre in all electrical areas
December was a month with record high electricity prices – SVT’s review shows that these were the highest December prices in five years, in all electricity areas. The average price landed at over 200 öre per kilowatt hour throughout the country. The invoice also includes the electricity company’s mark-up, electricity tax, VAT and grid charge, of around 150-200 öre per kilowatt hour.
The highest exchange prices in December were in electricity area 4 in southern Sweden, where the December price is only beaten by the record price in August.
Worried about having to move out of the caravan
Despite the fact that December prices are record high, they are still lower than what was feared last summer.
– When it looked at its worst, we thought it could land somewhere around double that, says Christian Holtz, electricity market analyst at Merlin and Metis.
But the fact that it could have been worse is scant consolation, say Carina and Anette, who are now worried about not being able to afford to heat the house and having to move out into the caravan – they cannot handle more electricity bills with the same amount, they say.
Hear them talk in the clip.
