Energy National Council wants to enshrine electricity reserve in law

Switzerland should be better prepared for future energy shortages. To this end, the National Council was the first chamber to pass amendments to the Electricity Supply Act on Tuesday. These enshrine the current emergency regulations for an electricity reserve in law.

The legal basis for the electricity reserve in the winter half-year is currently the Winter Reserve Ordinance, which is valid until the end of 2026. It regulates the use of the hydropower reserve and a thermal reserve. This consists of reserve power plants, pooled emergency power groups and CHP plants. The legal basis for a hydropower reserve is laid down in the Electricity Supply Act.

The risk of an electricity shortage in winter still exists for Switzerland. The Federal Council therefore wants to enshrine measures to secure the supply for an indefinite period in law. These include reserve power plants that can be operated with oil and gas.

Amendments to the Electricity Supply Act, the Energy Act and the CO2 Act are intended to guarantee security of supply and minimize the impact on the environment and climate as well as the costs for electricity consumers. The costs for the thermal reserve are part of the chargeable operating costs of the transmission grid. End consumers will have to pay for this.

Criticism from the green side

In principle, there was hardly any opposition to the bill in the National Council. Committee spokesperson Stefan Müller-Altermatt (centre/SO) emphasized on behalf of the majority that a secure power supply is of crucial importance for Switzerland, even in extreme situations. A reserve outside of the electricity market was therefore to be welcomed.

"It is a kind of insurance in case the market does not close the gap," said Jon Pult (SP/GR). In his parliamentary group vote, Mike Egger (SVP/SG) criticized the "misguided left-green energy policy" that made the bill necessary in the first place.

"We see the benefits of a thermal power reserve", stated Christine Bulliard-Marbach (FR), spokesperson for the Center parliamentary group. Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher (FDP/SG) also said on behalf of her parliamentary group that security of electricity supply was a top priority. According to Martin Bäumle (GLP/ZH), the risk of an electricity shortage in winter still exists for Switzerland - even if it has decreased.

The Greens wanted to refer the bill back to the Federal Council. In their view, it focuses too firmly on the operation of new and expensive gas-fired power plants. Instead, in the opinion of the parliamentary group, measures should be taken against energy wastage. However, the motion for referral failed by 25 votes to 164.

Reserve power plants as a last resort

The National Council made several amendments to the Federal Council's proposal during the detailed deliberations. With a consumption reserve based on market products, it wants to ensure that consumers no longer purchase electricity when prices reach a certain threshold. This is intended to reduce consumption when electricity becomes scarce and expensive.

The upper chamber also decided that companies with electricity costs of more than twenty percent of gross value added can be exempted from the costs of the electricity reserve. However, the prerequisite for this is that they make a contribution to the consumption reserve and save electricity.

The National Council also wants to allow reserve power plants, emergency power groups and CHP (combined heat and power) plants to run on CO2-neutral fuels as part of the electricity reserve, provided this is economically viable. Operators of CHP plants and emergency power groups should be encouraged to participate voluntarily in the reserve. If this is not sufficient, a duty applies. The aim is to reduce the need for expensive new infrastructure such as reserve power plants.

Clear conditions

The National Council rejected the proposal that emergency power groups with a capacity of over 750 kilowatt hours must always participate in the reserve. It also said no to the idea that fuel-operated reserve power plants should only be started up if government management measures are not sufficient to reduce consumption.

In the overall vote, the National Council adopted the bill by 144 votes to 49 with 2 abstentions. The Greens and parts of the SVP parliamentary group voted against. The matter now goes to the Council of States.

SDA