Systempris

Systempris, or system price, is a term used in Nordic electricity markets to refer to the reference price that would prevail for the entire market if all price areas formed a single, unconstrained system. It represents the marginal price of meeting the system-wide demand in the day-ahead market, given generation bids and transmission constraints. The system price is calculated by the market operator (Nord Pool) as part of the market-clearing process, determined from the aggregate supply and demand across all price areas while respecting cross-border transmission limits. The resulting price is published hourly and serves as a global benchmark for market participants and analysts.

In practice, the Nordic market is divided into several price areas (for example within Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland). Prices can differ between areas due to congestion on the transmission grid. The system price therefore functions as a reference price for the overall market, while the actual price paid in a specific area is the area price. When there is little or no congestion, the system price and the area prices tend to converge toward a common value.

The concept emerged with market liberalization of the Nordic electricity market in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Today systempris is a standard term in Nord Pool’s market data and is used by traders, analysts and regulators to gauge overall market conditions, scarcity signals and price formation in the region.