Swiss electricity providers warn of 2050 supply problems

Electricity companies: supply problems by 2050 Keystone-SDA

Delays in grid expansion and increasing demand threatens Switzerland's stated electricity supply targets for 2050, according to the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (AES).

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

Switzerland is set to reach just 69 of its 100 indexed targets, says AES. By 2035, this is likely to expand to 82 targets, and then deteriorate sharply from 2040. The situation is due to the continuous increase in demand for electricity and the abandonment of nuclear power.

+ Can Switzerland’s power grid keep up with data centres?

The index will be measured annually and serves as an early warning system for security of supply. It shows in particular the expected level of supply in the coming years and focuses on the critical winter half-year.

According to the AES, it is necessary to increase winter production from renewable sources, upgrade the grid and conclude an electricity agreement.

+ How the Swiss electricity market works

The supply deficit in 2050 could be bridged by reducing electricity consumption at peak hours, increasing renewables, extending the operation of existing nuclear power plants, increasing flexibility, with storage systems, increasing electricity production from gas-fired power plants, and upgrading the grid.

Without these measures, the goal will clearly not be achieved and security of supply in Switzerland will remain critical.

An electricity agreement with the European Union (EU) would improve the situation, but would not be sufficient to reach the 100-point mark. In any case, it would be advisable, AES says, to ensure a certain independence from neighbouring countries.

Adapted from Italian with AI/mga

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.  

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at [e-mail].