What is peak shaving, and how much can it save your business?

Peak shaving means using a battery to stop your site's electricity use from spiking above a level you choose. Most larger Swedish business connections pay their grid company for their highest peaks, so flattening them cuts a cost you control. Energy services can add income from the same battery, but that income moves with the market. Start with peak shaving, and treat energy services as a bonus.

How do Swedish grid companies charge for power?

Your grid bill measures two things. Kilowatt hours (kWh) are how much electricity you use in total. Kilowatts (kW) are how much you draw at once. Most business connections above 63 amps pay a monthly fee per kW, based on their highest hour. One busy hour can set part of your bill for a month or longer.

Think of a motorway. The kWh is how far you drive. The kW is how many lanes you need at your busiest moment, and the grid has to be built for that moment. On your bill this may appear as a power charge, a subscribed capacity, or an extra fee for going over it.

You may have read that power charges are being scrapped. In 2026, the Swedish government dropped the requirement for all grid companies to charge for power, and some have removed it for connections up to 63 amps. Larger business connections generally still pay for power, so check your latest grid bill.

What can peak shaving save? A worked example

Take an engineering workshop on Vattenfall Eldistribution's low voltage business tariff (N3T). It normally draws 240 kW. On busy weekday mornings, though, the compressor and chiller overlap, and for one hour the site averages 300 kW.

The tariff charges SEK 42 per kW each month for the highest hour. On winter weekdays it adds SEK 91 per kW. Winter here means January, February, March, November and December, and all prices exclude VAT.

Without a battery, the workshop pays these power charges on its 300 kW peak. With a battery covering the extra 60 kW, it pays them on 240 kW instead:

Illustrative example based on Vattenfall Eldistribution's published 2026 business prices. Your saving depends on your tariff and load profile.

This covers the power charges only. The rest of the grid bill, such as the fixed fee and the charge per kWh, stays the same, because the workshop uses the same amount of electricity.

The saving depends on the battery covering the peak every time it happens. The energy management system (EMS) therefore forecasts when peaks are likely and keeps enough charge ready to meet them.

Where else does peak shaving pay?

Lower monthly fees are only one of four ways peak shaving pays.

1. Avoiding a grid upgrade. Adding a production line or electric vehicle chargers can push you past your connection limit. That means new cables, fees and often a long wait. A battery that covers the new peak can let you grow within the connection you have.

2. Lower fees every month. A lower peak means a lower power charge on every bill, and it is the one saving you can calculate in advance.

3. No more penalties. If you sometimes go over your agreed limit, peak shaving stops it from happening.

4. Room to grow. Capacity you free up now is capacity you will not need to ask the grid for when you add vehicles, heat pumps or electric machines later.

Planning to add machines or chargers?
Talk to us before you apply for a bigger grid connection. A battery may let you grow within the one you have.

Peak shaving or load shifting: which do you need?

Load shifting means moving electricity use to a different time, for example starting the chiller an hour after the compressor. Peak shaving leaves your operations as they are and lets a battery cover the peak instead.

If you can move a load without affecting production, that is usually the cheapest first step, because there is nothing to install. Many industrial loads cannot be moved, though. Production runs to schedule, compressors start when the line needs air, and cold mornings arrive when they arrive. That is where peak shaving takes over.

For most sites the answer is both. Shift what you can, and let the battery handle the rest. Running a household rather than a business?

What about energy services?

A battery can also earn income from energy services, but that income depends on the market and changes from year to year. Peak shaving is different, because you can calculate the saving from your own grid bill before you invest. That is why we recommend building your business case on peak shaving first. Any income from energy services then comes on top.

Peak shaving with our Emaldo solution

Our Emaldo solution is an outdoor cabinet with 261 kWh of storage and built-in fire protection, cooling and energy management. It delivers between 75 kW and 125 kW, depending on the inverter it is paired with. Covering the workshop's 60 kW peak for an hour uses less than a quarter of its storage.

You can add cabinets as your needs grow, and the system can connect up to 250 kW of solar panels. The cells are rated for at least 8,000 full cycles, far more than the few hundred partial discharges a year that peak shaving typically needs.

The saving is only half the picture, because it needs to be weighed against the cost of the battery. Want to know how Emaldo could benefit your site? Book a meeting with our team. We will go through your grid bill, your load profile and the investment, so you can see both sides.

Frequently asked questions

Is the power charge disappearing in Sweden?

Not for most larger businesses. Some grid companies have removed it for connections up to 63 amps, and the regulator is drafting new rules. Check your grid bill.

How much can peak shaving save?

It depends on your tariff and how often you peak. In our example, lowering a winter peak by 60 kW saves about SEK 57,500 a year in grid fees.

Does peak shaving wear out the battery?

Peak shaving uses the battery, but this is exactly what the system is designed for. The battery is rated for at least 8,000 cycles, and peak shaving typically represents only a fraction of its total cycle life.