Utilities
Domestic power supply in Sweden is mainly provided by hydro, nuclear and other thermal electricity plants. Around 50% of Sweden's total energy supply is from nuclear power.
There is a single power supply market covering the four Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, and customers are free to choose any supplier operating in this market. Gas is not generally used for domestic power supply in Sweden.
Water supply and sewage disposal are the responsibility of municipal authorities and these services are subsidised by the state. Water charges in Sweden are relatively low, as by law they cannot exceed the cost of providing the water supply.
Households are billed for the collection of rubbish. People are strongly encouraged by the government to recycle their household rubbish and there are recycling bins in every neighbourhood.
There are two main methods of utility bill payment in Sweden. Many Swedes pay their bills online using internet banking facilities and the other main method of bill payment is Autogiro (Direct Debit), whereby money is debited from the payers bank account directly each payment date.
