The Swiss emergency plan for the energy crisis is not yet ready. With this paper, Minister of Economic Affairs Guy Parmelin (62) wants to show what happens in the event of a drastic power shortage. A small group of governments and associations are currently working on the plan and a public consultation is planned for mid-November.
As the “Tages-Anzeiger” writes, in extreme cases Switzerland wants to halve its electricity consumption. To do this, the electricity grids would have to be switched off in phases. Hospitals, for example, continue to benefit from electricity, although small regional hospitals can no longer be supplied with electricity for technical reasons. In such a case, hospitals would have to use their emergency generators or transfer patients.
Three steps
In the event of a shortage, the use of saunas, swimming pools and snow cannons would first be banned. In a second phase, the Federal Council will introduce quotas for large consumers. Grid shutdowns would only be used as a last resort. In different parts of Switzerland, electricity is turned off for four hours at different times. After that, the power would be turned back on for four to eight hours.
It is currently unclear whether the economy will meet austerity targets. “The unrest is growing,” Fabio Regazzi, president of the Swiss trade association, told the “Tages-Anzeiger”. Uncertainty is poison to companies, “we need planning certainty as soon as possible.” (lazy)