Electricity was never invented – it has always existed. It is a natural phenomenon. But everything relating to electricity was invented: how we produce it, how we transport it to businesses and households, and how we use it in everyday life.

When it comes to the grid of the future, the cantons are an important player too. In an interview, two experts discuss how they could play an even greater role.

A technical report commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) on the electromagnetic fields generated by power technologies has recently been published.

If the switch to renewable energies is to succeed, there needs to be more electrification and networking of buildings and mobility both regionally and locally. A conversation with Dr Kristina Orehounig, Head of the Urban Energy Systems department at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa).

Large solar plants are to be built in the Swiss mountains by as early as 2025. This represents a challenge for grid operators: they have to implement the grid connections.

The grid capacity of the Swiss transmission grid is precisely calculated to the nearest quarter of an hour. If unplanned electricity suddenly flows through our grid, i.e. electricity that was not foreseen in the calculations, this can cause overloads of grid elements.

The new «Experience Energy!» exhibition was inaugurated at the Swiss Museum of Transport on 4 April 2023. Swissgrid features in it.

The Swissgrid substation at Fionnay GD in the Valais, which is located in a mountain cave, has been renovated. This is where the energy generated by the Fionnay / Grande Dixence power plant is fed into the electricity transmission system.

In the first post in the blog series, we looked at the home of the future and saw an energy-optimised, networked work of art. For this vision to become reality, the infrastructure – i.e. the grid – must keep pace with digitalisation and the transformation of the energy system.

The expansion of domestic production capacity is essential in order to ensure a successful energy transition in Switzerland and to strengthen security of supply in the long term. This became even clearer in the light of the supply situation in the winter of 2022/2023.

In the future, the grid will also be a data highway – and our home will be an energy-optimised, networked work of art. There are a number of challenges to overcome along the way. The electricity grid operators are working closely together to meet these challenges. After all, there is only one grid in Switzerland, and millions of people rely on it every day.

Power shortage and power system failure are two terms that are often confused. But they do not mean the same thing. In the event of a power system failure, there is enough energy in the system in principle. However, a chain of unfortunate circumstances leads to a power failure. In a power shortage, on the other hand, production capacity is insufficient to meet demand.