Field-aligned conductance values estimated from Maxwellian and kappa distributions in quiet and disturbed events using Freja electron data Olsson, A. and P. Janhunen We study the question what difference it makes for the derived field-aligned conductance ($K$) values if one uses Maxwellian or kappa distributions for fitting of low-orbiting satellite electron flux spectra. This question has arised because sometimes a high-energy tail is seen in the spectra. In principle the kappa fits should always be better because the kappa distribution is a generalization of the Maxwellian. However, the physical meaning of the parameters appearing in the Maxwellian is clearer. Therefore it makes sense to study under which circumstances it is appropriate to use a Maxwellian. We use Freja electron data (TESP and MATE) from two events. One of the events represents quiet magnetospheric conditions (stable arc) and the other one represents disturbed conditions (surge). In these Freja events at least, using kappa fitting rather than Maxwellian fitting gives better results, but the difference in $K$ values is not large (usually less than 20 \%). The difference can be of either sign. However, sometimes even the kappa distribution does not provide a good fit but one needs a more complicated distribution such as two Maxwellians. We investigate the relative contributions of the two Maxwellians to the total field-aligned conductance value in these cases. We find that the contribution of the high-energy population is insignificant (usually much less than 20 \%). This is because $K$ is proportional to $n/\sqrt{E_c}$ where $n$ is the source plasma density and $E_c$ is the characteristic energy. %As far as one is interested in determining the $K$ value, using kappa fitting %instead of Maxwellian fitting seems to produce only a minimal increase in %accuracy. Furthermore, to get this higher level of accuracy would also require %one to use two Maxwellians instead of a kappa distribution in many cases.