Companies urged to switch from gas to oil where possible

Companies will not be penalised for the extra carbon emissions caused by burning more oil, the government said. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Dual-fuel installations – those which can run on either gas or oil – should be switched over to oil by October 1, the Swiss government said on Friday.

The recommendation to switch has been encouraged before by authorities as a way to reduce national gas usage by 15% this winter, in line with European Union (EU) efforts.

The restated appeal on Friday reassured businesses that they would not be hit with additional eco-taxes when they switch to the environmentally unfriendly oil; the government has temporarily adapted the CO2 laws accordingly, it said.

The authorities will also free up, from October 3, national stockpiles of petrol, diesel, oil and kerosene in order to compensate for what it said were limited freight capacities on the Rhine river and logistical problems with foreign rail transport. These reserves are sufficient for four-and-a-half months of regular usage (three months in the case of kerosene).

The ordinance releasing the stocks will remain in force “for as long as the situation absolutely requires”, the government said.

Mixed progress

Switzerland’s 15% gas reduction plans are part of Europe-wide efforts to cope with the interruption of deliveries from Russia and the skyrocketing price of gas generally. Earlier this week, Bastian Schwark, who heads the energy division at the Federal Office for National Economic Supply, told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper that the efforts were on track: companies had reacted and gas consumption had fallen by 20% in the past two months, he said.

Less progress has however been made on efforts to cut down on general electricity use, the Keystone-SDA news agency wrote on Friday. In August this year – despite government appeals and official energy-saving tipsExternal link – 2.5% less electricity than normal (compared to the average over the past 10 years) was used across the country: a slight drop in line with regular fluctuations, Keystone-SDA wrote.