The facilities in the ski areas are already working at full speed. The Federal Council urges the public to save electricity. But the mountain railways also want to do this justice. On Wednesday, Swiss Tourism will provide information on how to save electricity in the mountains next season.
Berno Stoffel (50) is the director of the Swiss Cable Car Association. “The cable car uses the least electricity,” he says. Cable cars and lifts account for approximately 0.24 percent of the total consumption of ski areas. So you gain nothing with a radical closure, Stoffel says.
91 measures help mountain railways save electricity
Even artificial snow accounts for only a small fraction of energy consumption. Also, you can no longer do without artificial snow. And for economic reasons.
The association has prepared a catalog of 91 possible measures to save electricity and continue to offer customers a good winter season. Distributed to cable cars. “Every mountain railway constantly monitors its consumption,” says Stoffel. Based on the data collected, mountain railways can decide for themselves what measures they want to take or not.
Stoffel asked about the measures: “We have different options with speed, number of gondolas and running times.” As Stoffel said, one possibility would be to provide only cold water and less heat in the toilet facilities – but not only that. “Turning off advertising lighting, reducing heating, reducing cold water in toilets, driving at night, chute heating, etc.”
Mountain railways also generate electricity
Another example is reducing the speed: on a ropeway, lowering the cruising speed does not help at all. With a chairlift, things are different again. According to Stoffel, it may also be considered to reduce train travel times or add a longer lunch break. Stoffel: Each ski resort should be able to decide for itself which measure is most suitable for the cable car network.
Swiss mountain railways not only save money, but also generate electricity. Electricity is provided by solar cells and wind energy on the roofs and walls of mountain railway buildings.