Insufficient protection against tampering

The risk is real. This is evidenced by evidence of sabotage in the damaged Nord Stream pipelines. At the scene, “explosive residues on various foreign objects” were found.

And what happened in Sweden can also happen in Switzerland. Finally, the Transitgas pipeline connects the natural gas fields of Northern Europe with Italy. Should an attack occur, thousands of homes and businesses could suddenly run out of gas.

But: According to an internal report of the federal government, the protection of the Swiss gas supply is insufficient, writes the “NZZ am Sonntag”. The newspaper analyzed the previously unpublished risk and vulnerability analysis of the natural gas supply by the Federal Office for Civil Protection (Babs) and the Federal Office for Energy (SFOE) from July 2021. The Federal Ministry of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS) ) and the two federal agencies, upon request, confirmed the article’s statements.

Access controls are required

To better secure surface systems, federal experts are calling for minimum standards for structural protection. Personal safety checks are also required for the employees of the control centers of the gas network. The Babs did not comment on possible damage from sabotage.

In principle, the operators themselves are responsible for the safe operation of their systems, the SFOE writes when asked. The new Gas Supply Act makes it possible to inspect employees. This is already possible in the electricity subsector – for employees of the national network company Swissgrid and employees in nuclear power plants.

In May, the Federal Council instructed the Federal Public Service for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication (UVEK) to review the Gas Supply Act and to submit the new parameters by the end of April 2023. This in response to findings from the Ukraine crisis. (SDA)