Switzerland will reduce gas consumption by 15 percent in winter.
Head of the Swiss Federal Electricity Commission (Elcom) believes that the winter energy crisis is practically inevitable.
Speaking on public radio SRF on Saturday, Werner Luginbühl said that the “excessive rise in electricity prices” has already put some Swiss businesses in existential difficulties.
< p>The head of Elcom added that while “we are doing everything we can to ensure there are no power outages this winter”, the risk has not diminished in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, Elcom outlined plans for hydropower operators to curb more reserves, which are usually sold on the open market, to help offset expected winter shortages.
And on Wednesday, the Swiss government said the country would voluntarily try to cut gas consumption by 15% this winter, in line with European Union targets. The Economy Ministry is also preparing a four-stage plan to eliminate the deficit, which may include restrictions on private energy use.
Luginbul told SRF that it is too early to say whether the measures will be sufficient: after all, unknown factors are at play, including the availability of imports gas, the situation with nuclear reactors in neighboring France and the harshness of winter..
Regarding statements that the situation has been aggravated by Switzerland's energy policy in recent years, in particular, the goal of abandoning nuclear energy, Luginbuhl said that this is not yes.
“The situation is clearly related to the war in Ukraine,” he said. All of Europe is in the same situation: “No country was left behind.”
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