Swiss Watchdog Warns Of 'Significant Uncertainties' Over Electricity Supply

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Since last summer, the news has been mostly positive, says EPresident Werner Luginbühl.

“Some calm has returned to the energy markets, Europe has reduced its dependence on Russian gas, and electricity consumption has been steadily reduced,” he told the media in Bern on Tuesday.

+ Swiss households braced for rising energy costs

But the markets are still volatile. In Germany there are three fewer nuclear power plants connected to the grid. In France the availability of nuclear power plants is always uncertain, and the Swiss facilities are also getting older. There are still uncertainties despite the measures implemented in the form of hydropower reserves, emergency power generators and emergency gas power plants.

+ Read more: Swiss to vote on climate and energy transition in June

“There can be no complete all-clear,” said Luginbühl. If there is an above-average cold winter and varidomestic and foreign nuclear power plants fail at the same time, then this could become a problem, says Elcom.

However, the overall situation is significantly less tense than a year ago, said Urs Meister, managing director of Elcom's technical secretariat. The market assumes a significantly lower risk of a supply bottleneck. But the energy market is still subject to major fluctuations.

In the long term, Ewants the Swiss nuclear power plants to run for at least sixty years.

“That would givetime to push ahead with the expansion with renewable energies,” said Luginbühl. The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (Ensi) has to decide whether the nuclear power plants can be left connected to the grid for more than sixty years.

MENAFN06092023000210011054ID1107020792