Sydkraft favors elimination of mandatory hourly meters

PRESS RELEASE FROM SYDKRAFT 1998-10-23 Sydkraft favors elimination of mandatory hourly meters Sydkraft votes yes to the 95 percent of electricity customers who currently are not included in the deregulated electricity market being given the opportunity to participate. Accordingly, Sydkraft supports the proposal to eliminate the requirement for hourly meters for small electricity consumers. The proposal should be implemented when the current delivery concessions expire on December 31, 2000. Sydkraft welcomes a deregulated electricity market. Full realization of such a market requires that all electricity consumers are given the opportunity offered by open competition. The requirement to acquire a meter for SEK 2,500 when you change electricity supplier basically shuts out small consumers from the market today. Accordingly, Sydkraft favors establishment of a standard metering system in Sweden. Appropriately, this should cover customers with a meter amperage of 25. This group includes apartment and small house consumers, as well as small farms and businesses. A standard metering procedure for these customers would mean that this category would be exempted from the requirement for hourly metering. A suitable time for implementing a standard billing system is December 31, 2000 when the current delivery concessions expire. "We consider that it is unacceptable to initiate open competition before electricity suppliers have a lawful opportunity to freely set prices and select customers," says Mats O. Nilsson, president of Sydkraft Elförsäljning AB. "Accordingly, establishment of standard metering should be concurrent with changes in delivery concession rules." Sydkraft is now initiating work with developing support and information systems in order to be prepared for standard metering in the year 2000. For further information: Mats O. Nilsson, President Sydkraft Elförsäljning AB, +46 40 25 58 21, or 070-588 64 64. Delivery concession: Delivery concession involves an obligation for a company to deliver electricity to all customers within a certain area. Pricing is not unrestricted, since all customers with the same type of consumption must be charged the same price. This press release is sent by: Sydkraft AB (publ) Information Stieg Claesson ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1998/10/23/19981023BIT00190/schablon_eng.doc