Energy Alpiq CEO sees security of supply at risk without EU treaty
If Switzerland does not have an electricity agreement with the EU, the country's security of supply is at risk, according to Alpiq CEO Antje Kanngiesser. Without an electricity contract, Switzerland would no longer be able to import energy to the same extent as before in difficult situations.
26.01.2025, 15:55
SDA
In an interview with "NZZ am Sonntag", Kanngiesser said that this is not primarily about large annual deliveries, but rather about so-called balancing energy, which must be imported or delivered within thirty seconds, for example, in order to keep the electricity grid stable: "This balancing takes place across the entire European electricity grid."
According to Kanngiesser, the dangers to the stability of the Swiss electricity grid exist regardless of which technologies are used to generate electricity in Switzerland today and in the future. Nuclear power plants go into overhaul for at least four to six weeks. In addition, nuclear or other power plants could go down unplanned, said the Alpiq CEO. "That shows: All technologies need a backup."
According to Kanngiesser, even lifting the ban on nuclear energy would not solve the energy supply problems in Switzerland in the next fifteen to twenty years. "We must now press ahead with the implementation of existing projects to expand Swiss energy production and campaign for the electricity agreement," she therefore demands. At the same time, the long-term operation of existing nuclear power plants will be examined.
