In accordance with the Electricity Supply Act (StromVG), the national grid company Swissgrid is responsible for the non-discriminatory, reliable and efficient operation of the transmission system in Switzerland. This is an essential requirement for security of electricity supply in Switzerland. To enable the necessary balance to be maintained between electricity consumption and electricity production and to guarantee the security of the Swiss transmission system, Swissgrid is also responsible for the procurement of ancillary services.

Costs are incurred for this. These are charged in accordance with the applicable legislation. There are also other costs that are set out in the StromVG and in the Electricity Supply Ordinance (StromVV). These costs are charged in the form of tariffs and on-account billing rates defined by Swissgrid according to legal requirements. Swissgrid submits the cost calculation on which these tariffs are based to the Federal Electricity Commission ElCom on an annual basis in accordance with the requirements of the Electricity Supply Act.

Since the start of 2009 the production of electricity from renewable energies has been promoted by means of cost-covering feed-in remuneration (CRF). This is funded by a surcharge paid by all electricity consumers for every kilowatt hour of electricity they use. From 2012, a new surcharge of 0.1 Rp./kWh is being levied to finance water conservation measures (revision of the Swiss Federal Water Conservation Act of December 2009). The surcharge to finance CRF and the new water conservation measures is set at an appropriate level by the Swiss Federal Council. The Swiss Federal Council has set the total surcharge for 2012 at a current 0.45 Rp./kWh, i.e. 0.35 Rp./kWh for CRF and 0.10 Rp./kWh for water conservation.