| Media release
The planned hydropower reserve is a comprehensible, necessary and feasible measure to increase security of supply. Swissgrid is contributing to the consultation process with additional proposals for optimisation.
By establishing a hydropower reserve, the legislator is aiming to improve the availability of energy in the winter months. It is a comprehensible and necessary measure to increase Switzerland’s security of supply and must be implemented quickly. In the medium and long term, further measures are needed to effectively counteract shortages of electricity. Swissgrid has developed solutions in association with the authorities and the industry. They include building additional domestic production capacity, accelerating procedures for the necessary expansion of production capacity and grid infrastructure, and an electricity agreement with the EU.
The Federal Council plans to introduce the hydropower reserve by ordinance so that it will be available as early as next winter. According to the draft ordinance, Swissgrid will be entrusted with the operational management of the reserve and is prepared to take on this additional, responsible task. Swissgrid has asked the legislator to create the relevant statutory bases as quickly as possible.
The preparation, provision and use of the hydropower reserve will result in costs that will be settled via the tariffs. Additional contractual agreements with the balance groups and power plant operators are also required and must be concluded within a short period of time. Swissgrid also sees a need to optimise the formal legal basis for the allowability of costs.