Competing in a fully deregulated market

Vattenfall, Sweden's largest utility, has provided competitively priced nuclear electricity to a price-conscious market for several decades. As Sweden is an exporting country, the cost of products must be kept as low as possible to meet tough European competition. Since Sweden relies almost exclusively on electricity for energy, electric prices must be low to keep Swedish products competitive. Because of the available hydropower in Sweden and Norway, nuclear power plants have been forced to operate with high availability and low cost. From the first years after nuclear plants began operation, there has been a continuous development of organization, management, and work practices to sustain low-cost production. Now, the European electricity market is undergoing deregulation and open competition. This is taking place in a situation where the increase in demand is relatively weak and where the availability of generation capacity is good. Sweden is at the forefront of the competition. According to the well-known law of supply and demand, this entails the risk of squeezed prices, but the situation also offers many opportunities for those making the right decisions. The availability of electricity at competitive prices has great significance for the competitiveness of the industry in general and for the electricity-intensive industry in particular. If the customer then, in a deregulated market is free to choose the supplier, the focus definitely is on the customer