Öbo's AI heating praised, KIF Örebro faces eviction

Örebrobostäder (Öbo) is getting praise for its way of controlling home heating with AI, at the same time as the Riksbank raises its policy rate to 2.0 per cent. KIF Örebro has broken a payment plan with Örebro municipality and can be evicted from Behrn arena.

Öbo's AI controls the heating – saves 8–18 percent

Örebrobostäder (Öbo) is one of Sweden's largest municipal housing companies, with around 40 000 tenants and around 23 000 apartments. According to Fossilfritt Sverige, a government inquiry and a platform for cooperation between business and politics, Öbo is at the forefront in the country with its approach to reducing energy consumption when multi-family housing buildings are heated. At the locations where the system has been introduced, energy consumption is reduced by between 8 and 18 percent, according to Öbo.

Öbo launched a pilot project in 2004 to use computer-controlled heating in a high-rise building on Lertagsgatan in Örebro, and today the system is in place in most of Öbo's properties. Sensors detect how much district heating is supplied to the buildings and how warm it is in different apartments, and information is also obtained from SMHI in the form of weather forecasts, so that a building can be preheated ahead of a cold snap. Fossilfritt Sverige says that if all multi-family housing buildings in Sweden used the same system, the energy saved would correspond to the district heating used in the entire city of Malmö. SVT Nyheter Örebro

Riksbank raises its policy rate to 2.0 per cent

Riksbanken, Sweden’s central bank, is raising its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.0 per cent. This is the first increase since 2023, and borrowing will become more expensive. Riksbanken is also flagging further increases: according to the governor of the central bank, the rate is expected to rise somewhat more. Nerikes Allehanda

How Kif Örebro can be evicted from Behrn arena

Kif Örebro has broken the installment plan agreed with Örebro municipality. The plan meant that the club would pay 37,000 SEK per month for 37 months to cover overdue debts totalling 1,369,000 SEK. Now the club can be evicted from Behrn arena, and Örebro municipality's operations manager says it is serious. Nerikes Allehanda

Bergsmansgården in Fjugesta is closing

By 30 November, all girls placed there must have moved out of Bergsmansgården in Fjugesta, after which its operations will cease. The decision to wind it down was taken in September. The reasons include deficiencies in fire protection and problems with providing safe and secure care for the girls placed there: staff turnover has been high, and the managers have replaced one another. Granhult will remain. Nerikes Allehanda

Roadworks outside Nora cause traffic disruption

Road paving work just outside Nora is causing major traffic problems: traffic controllers, long queues of cars, closed lanes and buses unable to get through. Region Örebro län, which is responsible for public transport in the county, among other things, says it has received complaints. Nerikes Allehanda

Conductor Herbert Blomstedt has died – aged 99

The world-renowned conductor Herbert Blomstedt has died, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music announced. He remained active until the very end and was 99 years old. Herbert Blomstedt was born in Massachusetts in 1927, and the family moved back to Sweden when he was a couple of years old. He also spent a few years in Finland during his childhood. Nerikes Allehanda

In brief

• Säpo, Säkerhetspolisen, warns that the threat of Russian sabotage against Sweden has increased, particularly against the defence industry. Nerikes Allehanda
• Badhusgatan in Kumla remains closed because the ground has proved to be contaminated. Nerikes Allehanda
• ÖSK Handboll lost the away match against Borlänge 24–21 in division 2 women’s handball at Maserhallen, after leading 17–11 at half-time. Nerikes Allehanda
• ÖSK Innebandy are on a run of five consecutive defeats. Nerikes Allehanda
• Live at Kristallkyrkan in Vretstorp is being held on Saturday for the third year in a row, featuring 70s rock, gospel and sing-alongs. Nerikes Allehanda
• Aroil AB is a new company in Nora. Nerikes Allehanda
• A newly started consultancy company is located in Örebro. Nerikes Allehanda
• A 21-year-old is starting a new accounting company in Örebro. Nerikes Allehanda
• A teenager is convicted of attempted murder, preparing for murder and gross firearms offences after a shooting in Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands on 16 January, and was arrested just over a week later in Örebro; the sentence is two years and three months of closed youth care. SVT Nyheter Örebro