A hydroelectric reserve must be set up to avoid a possible shortage at the end of winter. Consumers will bear the costs, according to the ordinance adopted by the Federal Council on Wednesday.
Electricity and gas prices are currently subject to strong fluctuations, in particular due to the war in Ukraine. The Federal Council has already taken several measures to strengthen the electricity supply. On Wednesday, he detailed his concept of a hydroelectric reserve.
Consumers at checkout
Storage power stations will have to conserve a certain quantity of water once morest payment from December 1 to May 15. The idea is not to be able to ensure supply throughout this period, but only to deal with a shortage of a few weeks, the government said in a press release.
The costs of a hydroelectric reserve of 500 GWh are currently estimated at between 650 and 750 million francs. But they might rise if market tensions persist, he notes. Consumers will have to bear them. They will thus have to pay an additional 1.2 cents per kilowatt hour.
The reserve can only be used to deal with critical shortages. Its use will be coordinated with reserve power plants running on gas, oil or hydrogen, which are being set up.
Call for tenders in October
A call for tenders will be launched in October. If there are too few proposals or if these are too onerous, the Federal Department of Energy may force the operators of power stations to constitute a reserve once morest a remuneration fixed by the authorities.
The ordinance, adopted on Wednesday, is limited until mid-2025. A law should follow suit. It is currently being debated in Parliament.
