Electricity reserves: four billion francs, doubts in parliament

Winter electricity reserves will cost Swiss consumers four billion francs. The figure comes from an analysis by Economiesuisse, cited by the NZZ am Sonntag. The umbrella business association does not dispute the expense: it argues that an electricity shortage would cause far greater economic damage than this cost.

According to Economiesuisse, the bill is high because Switzerland neglected for years to develop its winter electricity production. The reserves are now meant to quickly fill a gap that, with more advance planning, could likely have been closed at lower cost for households and businesses.

Contested power plants

The heaviest item on the bill concerns the project for four new reserve power plants running on fossil fuels, planned by Federal Councillor Albert Rösti, who is responsible for energy. The estimated cost is 2.3 billion francs, more than half of the total bill.

The National Council's Finance Committee has raised doubts about the project. It considers the urgency of the measure questionable and criticises the fact that cheaper alternatives were not studied before committing such a large sum. This is a point about the financial sustainability of the choice, not just its technical urgency.

These doubts are reinforced by the announcement, reported by the Sunday paper, of a report from the Swiss Federal Audit Office due in September. According to the NZZ am Sonntag, this document is also expected to be critical of the reserve power plant project.

The underlying point, raised by Economiesuisse itself, remains: the high bill does not stem from the choice to guarantee supply security, but from the delay accumulated in previous years in developing winter production. A delay that consumers are now paying for, in the form of a four-billion-franc bill.

With two critical assessments due, from the parliamentary committee and from the Federal Audit Office, the question remains open whether such costly reserve infrastructure is truly the most efficient way to secure winter supply, or whether earlier planning could have achieved the same goal at lower cost for taxpayers and businesses.