Federal Council wants to control the electricity supply in the event of an electricity shortage
Published: Friday, Dec 13th 2024, 12:10
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In the event of an electricity shortage, the Federal Council not only wants to control energy consumption, but also centrally manage the electricity that is still available. This would affect power plants with a capacity of more than ten megawatts that are directly connected to transmission and distribution grids.
Reserve power plants and SBB power plants would also be included in supply management, as the Federal Council wrote on Friday. Power plants without a connection to the public electricity grid, emergency power groups and combined heat and power plants would not be affected.
The Federal Council has submitted the provisions of the ordinance on this supply management for consultation by March 28. Specifically, in a shortage situation, the grid company Swissgrid would use available capacities for the generation and storage of electricity in a targeted manner. The export of electricity would be restricted.
Furthermore, the mechanisms of the electricity market in Switzerland will not function during the measure. National and cross-border trading transactions for electricity would be suspended. The operators of the power plants affected by centralized management would be compensated in the event of state intervention.
The Federal Council wrote that supply management has far-reaching effects on economic freedom. It should therefore only be used if the stability of the Swiss electricity supply can no longer be guaranteed in any other way.
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