2023-05-13 12:21:50
The majority of the population was finally able to spend the winter warm, without shortages, despite the pressure on our energy supply due to the war in Ukraine.
The government’s message to save energy has been heard, show consumption figures for winter 2022-2023. But it was less so for electricity than for gas.
Target missed for electricity
For the latter, the Confederation had set a gas saving target of 15%. There, the goal was achieved: between the months of October and March, consumption fell by 22% compared to the average of the last five years, a drop facilitated by the particularly mild winter that Switzerland went through. But even without this weather factor, the economy reached an estimated 16%.
The same cannot be said for electricity. In December, the Confederation had set a target of -10%. In the end, we saved 4% this winter, a figure that would drop to just over 3% without the weather factor. We are therefore very far from the goal. According to the Federal Office of Energy, it is the industry which would have provided the greatest effort.
>> More details in our article: Switzerland far from electricity saving targets
This contrast might be explained by the price: while the increase in the price of gas immediately hurt consumers, which may have pushed them to save, electricity increased later and its price was perceived at the time to pay the bill.
Another factor, 480 companies switched to oil to use less gas. Finally, in households, lowering the temperature by one degree with gas heating – a much more common source of energy in Switzerland than electric heating – already allows substantial savings.
The lever is easier to operate than for electricity, of which we are more captive for cooking, for lighting, for powering electrical appliances, for heating water or for traveling by bicycle or with an electric car.
>> Also listen to the analysis in Forum by Benoît Revaz, director of the Federal Office of Energy:
A new challenge next winter
In the end, Switzerland did not have to touch its hydraulic reserves or activate the reserve power stations. But Europe went through a mild winter. It has enabled European countries to export their current to Switzerland, which was not won in the fall, particularly in France due to a nuclear fleet that has been partly shut down. So many economic factors that mean that supply will remain a challenge for Switzerland next winter.
>> Listen to Céline Fontannaz’s analysis with the Data cell of the RTS:
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