International agreement to keep the Swiss electricity grid stable
Published: Tuesday, Nov 12th 2024, 16:50
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A technical agreement with neighboring countries should keep the Swiss electricity supply secure and the grid stable. However, this is not a substitute for the electricity agreement with the EU, the Federal Electricity Commission and Swissgrid make clear.
Elcom has concluded the agreement between the grid operator Swissgrid and the transmission system operators of the neighboring countries on the northern borders, as was announced on Tuesday. The agreement enables the Swiss grid to be included in the Central European Core capacity calculation region.
The agreement is understood to be a transitional solution until an electricity agreement is concluded with the EU, with a view to the so-called 70 percent rule coming into force at the beginning of 2026. According to this rule, EU states must make at least seventy percent of their grid element capacity available for trade between EU countries.
As Switzerland is now included in the capacity calculation of the core region, exchanges between these countries - for example France and Germany - will be reduced if the Swiss grid would otherwise be overloaded.
Without this inclusion, there could be an increase in unplanned electricity flows in the Swiss grid and lower capacities for imports and exports. This would have economic disadvantages and jeopardize the secure supply of electricity.
The technical agreement primarily creates short-term security, Elcom and Swissgrid write. However, it does not provide a stable long-term basis for the secure and predictable integration of Switzerland into the European electricity grid.
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