Energy security remains priority for Swiss minister

Security of energy supply, a priority for Rösti Keystone-SDA

Swiss energy minister Albert Rösti says a secure energy supply for Switzerland is a strategic objective for the country.

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It will take more than the simple implementation of a federal law to achieve this, Rösti said.

Despite the clear approval of the Electricity Act by the Swiss electorate in June 2024, the energy minister considers the situation in this area to be “unsatisfactory”.

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Renewable energies – hydroelectric plants, alpine solar plants and wind farms – are progressing “too slowly” in his view. “Virtually all these installations are blocked”, he said. “There are too few facilities in Switzerland that produce electricity in winter,” he added.

Rösti underlined the importance of a bill to speed up procedures. Among other things, it will shorten the authorisation and appeal procedures for large-scale facilities and simplify the planning process for extending the electricity grid. For these two aspects, the ball is in parliament’s court.

Stop the blackout counter-proposal

Rösti also sees the counter-proposal to the Stop the Blackout initiative, tabled by a right-wing alliance, as an important element on the road to a secure energy supply. A message from the Federal Council on the initiative and the counter-proposal is expected after the summer break.

Rösti also formulated two other strategic objectives for his Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC): an “optimal balance” in the protection of biodiversity, with food security, measures to adapt to climate change and the “preservation of biodiversity through decarbonisation”.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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