| Media release
The electricity agreement is essential for the secure and efficient operation of the transmission grid and for Switzerland’s supply of electricity. This means that cooperation with the EU enshrined in international law is necessary, especially as the Swiss electricity grid is integrated into the European grid with 41 international interconnection lines. Moreover, the status quo cannot be maintained without an electricity agreement.
The electricity agreement is therefore highly relevant for Switzerland’s security of supply and for grid operations. «We need to be able to import electricity in the winter and export it in the summer. To do this, we need capacities on cross-border lines, which the electricity agreement will help us to protect,» says Konrad Zöschg, Head of Technology at Swissgrid. In addition, access to the European market for control energy is vital for efficient and secure grid operation.
The rise in transnational electricity trade in the EU internal market is leading to unplanned electricity flows through the Swiss grid, forcing Swissgrid to make cost-intensive interventions in power plant deployment. An electricity agreement with the EU would integrate Switzerland into the coordinated management of electricity flows, thereby significantly reducing these unplanned flows.
Switzerland is dependent on electricity imports in the winter, while it produces more electricity than it consumes in the summer. As the use of solar energy continues to rise, this seasonal imbalance will become even more pronounced in the future. That makes Switzerland dependent on reliable cross-border capacities to ensure a stable supply of electricity. These capacities can only be protected under international law and guaranteed in the long term by an electricity agreement.
The expansion of weather-dependent energy sources such as solar and wind power is increasing the need for control energy, which is used to equalise the balance between production and consumption in the event of short-term oscillations in the grid. Access to the EU control energy platforms, which is made possible by the electricity agreement, is crucial to ensure grid stability efficiently and cost-effectively.