ENTSOG South-North Corridor GRIP 2017 - Main Report

4.2.6 SWITZERLAND

Energy policy is in Switzerland subject of the federal institutions, of the cantons (states), and of the municipalities – each level in the framework of its competence. But the decisions on the level of the federal institutions have the highest influence on the future energy supply. Federal institutions In 2007 the Federal Council based its energy strategy on four pillars: energy efficiency, renewable energies, replacement and new construction of large power stations for electricity production (also nuclear power stations), and external energy policy. Following the reactor disaster of Fukushima in 2011 the Federal Council and Parliament decided on Switzerland’s progressive withdrawal from nuclear electricity production. This decision, together with further far-reaching changes in the international energy environment, requires a change of the Swiss energy system. For this purpose the Federal Council has developed the Energy Strategy 2050 . This continues and intensifies the strategic thrust of the Energy Strategy 2007 with new objectives. What is basically new is that the existing five nuclear power stations are to be shut down at the end of their technically safe operating lifetime and not replaced. In September 2016, the Parliament approved the first set of measures in the Energy Strategy 2050 . The Council wishes to significantly develop the existing potential for energy efficiency and exploit the potential of water power and the new renewable energies (sun, wind, geothermal, biomass). The Parliament has already strengthened the development of renewable energies through an amendment to the Energy Law that came into force at the beginning of 2014. In a second stage of the Energy Strategy 2050 the Federal Council wishes to replace the existing support system by a management system to steer energy supply and emissions. Goals and measurements needs still to be defined. A new CO ² -law which is currently in discussion will be crucial for the future gas demand in Switzerland. In the first draft climate protection and CO ² reduction are prioritised over questions of economic viability, competitiveness, and social acceptance. Cantons Cantons have their own goals: increasing use of renewables, better isolations of buildings, and increasing amount of decentralised electricity generating units (on housetops). These goals should be reached by standards which do not differentiate between oil and natural gas. Furthermore, these standards do not recognise biogas as renewable energy. For several cantons the implementation of the standards is expected in 2018. Municipalities Some (bigger) municipalities have very ambitious goals and they focus strongly on ecology and support minimum energy houses and privilege renewable energies and district heating based on geothermal energy, waste heat, and wood. On the other hand municipalities implement incentives for the change from petrol and diesel to natural gas in the mobility sector. Outlook Thus, the current energy policy in Switzerland is not supportive for the gas demand: gas supply for heating purposes is getting more and more under pressure and also the industry is urged by high CO ² -taxes to reduce CO ² emissions. If the CO ² -law which is currently in discussion will be implemented not considering enough economic viability and competitiveness and if the gas demand in the mobility sector will not increase the gas demand will be reduced substantially by a quarter of the current demand until 2050 (according to the study Energieperspektiven 2050 by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy).

South-North Corridor GRIP 2017 |

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