Government must declare shortage, says Roberto Schmidt
For the head of the cantonal energy directors, Roberto Schmidt, it is only by declaring a shortage that “relatively painless” saving measures might be ordered.
Roberto Schmidt at the inauguration of the Nant de Drance pumped storage power plant in Finhaut.
KEYSTONE
The Federal Council should immediately declare a state of electricity shortage, believes the head of the cantonal energy directors Roberto Schmidt. Only then might “relatively painless” cost-saving measures be ordered, he said.
The State Councilor is thinking, for example, of switching off the lighting in the windows as a preventive measure. Without a declaration of shortage, the cantons and the Confederation do not have the competence, he specified in an interview published on Saturday in the German-speaking titles of the Tamedia group.
According to him, the Confederation has so far not provided a clear crisis plan. “As chairman of the Conference of Cantonal Energy Directors, I don’t know of any,” he said. Draft orders are available for gas, but not for electricity, “much more complex”.
Prevent looting
Roberto Schmidt wants to know what will be cut first and how vital infrastructure will be maintained. “Unlike the coronavirus, this is a predictable crisis. So we have to plan it – now,” he commented.
The Valais “minister” is also worried regarding the problems that power cuts might cause. It is regarding how the population reacts when the Internet and mobile phones are down, how communication from the authorities works, and how burglaries and looting can be avoided, he gave as an example. “But we don’t hear anything regarding it at the federal level,” he pointed out.
Long debate in Valais
The energy crisis occupied Roberto Schmidt for a long time on Friday during the Valais Grand Council. About twenty proposals on energy were debated there for more than three hours. A dozen passed the ramp.
Among the texts refused, the urgent motion of the Greens wanting to limit the use of outdoor illuminated signs and indoor lighting in non-residential buildings this winter. The deputies thus followed the advice of the Council of State.
This favors “recommendations, optional measures and joint effort”, argued Roberto Schmidt as head of the finance and energy department. “As the Confederation has indicated, we are currently not in a crisis situation; however, we will adjust the measures to the evolution of the situation”, he further specified.
The economy opposed to constraints
Economic organizations have been wary of an immediate declaration of shortages. “Swissmem is concerned that the Federal Council has not recognized the seriousness of the situation, how serious the consequences of quota restrictions and electricity and gas cuts would be,” its director Stefan Brupbacher told SRF radio.
However, the umbrella association of the Swiss machinery, electrical equipment and metals industry relies on the voluntary participation of the population. “If we decide for ourselves, if these measures come from us, the implementation will be much easier, the people will support these measures.”
The Swiss Union of Arts and Crafts (usam) is also opposed to binding decisions by the Confederation. “If we move to an emergency ordinance, then all competence will revert to the Federal Council. We believe that the economy is doing everything possible, by planning savings plans, to see where there is potential to overcome shortages, ”explained its director Hans-Ulrich Bigler to SRF.
Businesses can already save electricity, without the need for a prescription. “If they want to turn off the light in their storefront, they can do that today. No need for an emergency order for that,” notes the director.
The Federal Council wants to examine in the coming weeks concrete and binding measures to save electricity, declared the Minister of the Economy Guy Parmelin on the airwaves of the German-speaking radio.
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