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Swedish grid operator will increase north-south power by 800 MW in 2029

Svenska Kraftnat, the Swedish grid operator, announced on Tuesday that it will invest more than four billion crowns ($420m) in order to increase north-south capacity by 800 Megawatts by 2029. This is to reduce congestion.

The company stated that the investments would cover upgrading two substations as well as other power-increasing methods, and not construction of new powerlines.

It can take several years to build new powerlines and there is often local opposition due to land ownership or environmental concerns.

Sweden's energy system has changed fundamentally in recent years. Some nuclear power plants have closed in the south, and wind power has expanded in the north.

The grid capacity to move electricity from the north to the south is often limited, which makes it difficult to match supply and demand, and leads to large differences in power prices within Sweden.

Svenska Kraftnat stated that the plans are part of an investment program previously announced to increase transmission capacity in Sweden from 7,300MW to 10,000MW by 2040.

Svenska Kraftnat stated that the first steps could be taken to increase transmission capacity in 2026.

The report added that "adequate measures taken early on will result in a reduction in the average price of electricity in Sweden's southern electricity regions," if all other factors are equal.

(source: Reuters)