STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Wednesday the Social Democratic government would roll out about 30 billion crowns ($2.88 billion) in subsidies to cushion the blow of soaring electricity prices on households.
The government said that, including subsidies for companies, the total amount paid out could reach 60 billion crowns. “When it comes to the energy sector, we are in a situation which resembles a wartime economy,” Andersson told reporters.
“We have electricity and gas prices that we have never seen before.”
The government said that the relevant legislation would be passed at the latest by mid-November. The proposal comes as Swedes ready to vote in a general election on Sept. 11.
Sweden’s electricity generation is dominated by hydropower and nuclear plants, which together produce around 75% of power, with wind accounting for another 17%.
But prices are set on European power markets and have soared to record levels.
(Reporting by Simon Johnson; writing by Niklas Pollard, editing by Stine Jacobsen)
