Legal dispute over new fossil reserve power plants
Published: Sunday, May 26th 2024, 16:10
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According to the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ), the tendering and financing of the construction of fossil reserve power plants via the grid usage fee is unconstitutional. The federal government plans to build such reserve power plants in order to stabilize the grid in the event of an electricity emergency.
The federal government has no authority in the area of electricity production. It should only regulate the transportation and supply of electrical energy, the FOJ informed the Keystone-SDA news agency in response to an inquiry. The "NZZ am Sonntag" had first reported on this. Although the procurement of electricity as a measure to secure the supply of electricity is possible, the federal government can neither operate electricity production plants itself nor put the construction of new production plants out to tender or commission them.
A federal regulation on the financing of new power plants and their dismantling after participation in the electricity reserve is therefore not possible. The federal government's draft provides for the entire investment costs for the reserve power plants to be compensated, the report continued. However, the grid usage fee envisaged for this would only include costs for services related to the operation of the grids.
The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) does not share this assessment. The reserve power plants could be financed via the grid usage fee, it said on request. The reserve power plants ensure the stability of the electricity grid in extraordinary situations and are therefore part of the grid infrastructure.
According to the SFOE, the national grid company Swissgrid, which is part of the grid infrastructure, is also financed via grid usage fees. The federal government considers reserve power plants to be a special type of control energy.
In order to enshrine various existing measures to prevent an energy shortage in law and to specifically promote winter electricity production, the Federal Council has adopted a dispatch on corresponding amendments to the Electricity Supply, Energy and CO2 Acts.
Switzerland currently has emergency power plants in Birr AG, Monthey VS and Cornaux NE.
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