The Federal Office of Transport warns of a possible shortage of electricity. She asks the operators to prepare. The latter ensure to examine the possibilities.
He is an actor that we had almost forgotten until then. The public transport sector might be hit hard by the potential electricity shortage expected by next winter. The Federal Office of Transport therefore sounded the alarm on Tuesday, August 23 in a blog post.
“For a long time now, the scenario of an electricity shortage has been one of the potential risks for transport. In recent months, this risk has increased due to the war in Ukraine and other developments.”
The finding is far from positive: the risk of electricity shortages has increased in recent months. As a result, the OFT crisis unit, of which SBB and Postbus are part, might be active. This unit, called transport coordination in the event of events (CTE), harmonizes and coordinates transport measures. This cell had been activated during the Covid-19 pandemic. In its post, the OFT asks other operators to prepare. It also says that the Public Transport Union is “in the process of developing valid designs for the whole sector.”
Carriers for the moment discreet
In 2021, SBB consumed more than 3,000 megawatts of electricity. If the company has its own hydraulic power station to supply 90% of the trains, the stations and the installations depend on the network. A drop in voltage on the latter might therefore paralyze traffic. Contacted, the company indicates that reflections are underway, but that the proposals will not be announced until the fall. For his part, the president of Lémanis Mathieu Fleury says “not having control” of the file.
Several solutions are possible for the operator: reduce comfort in trains, such as by cutting off the air conditioning, or even reduce traffic altogether. Albert Rösti, National Councilor (UDC, BE) asked him to cut public transport traffic in the event of a proven shortage.
On the TPG side, where half of the fleet is electric, no strategy is planned for the moment. The operator ensures that discussions are also underway on this subject. On the other side of the border, the SNCF says “knowing how to deal with the unexpected” and refuses to comment.
