Swissgrid wants an electricity deal with the EU

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Such an agreement could stabilize the Swiss market, Swissgrid boss Yves Zumwald said in an interview published Monday in the French-language Swiss daily “Le Temps”.

In addition, from 2025, all countries would have to reserve at least 70 percent of their capacity for the EU. “With an electricity deal, Switzerland would be taken into account when calculating the network capacity needed for trade with Europe,” says Zumwald.

Switzerland’s import capacity would then no longer be limited by the 70 percent rule, as it would no longer be considered a third country. This could have positive consequences for the Swiss countries in terms of winter supplies.

Conversely, the Swiss market would be fully liberalized in case of an agreement with Brussels: “This would create an innovation-friendly environment and allow better integration of renewable electricity into the market,” said Zumwald.

Negotiations on an electricity agreement between Switzerland and the European Union began in 2007. The last meeting between representatives of Switzerland and the EU on a possible electricity agreement took place in 2018. The talks then foundered when the Federal Council in May 2021 concluded negotiations on an institutional framework agreement with Brussels.

Recently, however, the fronts have softened. By the end of June, the Federal Council wants to work out the main parameters of a negotiating mandate, as it announced at the end of March.

The starting point for the discussions is the package approach proposed by the Bundesrat, in which the institutional issues are laid down in the individual agreements. In addition, the package must contain new agreements in the field of electricity, food safety and health.

(SDA)

Source:Blick