Keystone
According to Economiesuisse President Christoph Mäder, the energy supply is the most pressing problem for the economy. The fact that Switzerland could already be confronted with a power shortage in winter is an “enormously threatening prospect for companies”.
«Many industrial processes depend on a full power supply. If it is reduced, nothing works,” said the President of the largest business umbrella organization in an interview with “Finanz und Wirtschaft” (Saturday edition).
The companies would take precautions and take more and more replacement measures, said the member of various boards of directors such as the insurer Baloise, the pharmaceutical supplier Lonza and Ems-Chemie. Diesel generators would be installed “largely”. However, this causes additional costs and pollutes the environment. Gas can be partially replaced, but only 30 percent of industrial production can be converted from gas to oil.
Switzerland is “not getting out of the threatening situation in time,” Mäder said. Relying solely on hydropower and photovoltaics is not enough. In the case of photovoltaics, the previous increase in capacity does not give cause for optimism that the necessary magnitude will be reached within a reasonable time frame. In addition, the problem of winter electricity remains unsolved. Every measure should aim to help reduce the winter electricity deficit.
In March, several business associations presented possible measures against an electricity crisis. Among other things, they called for a higher threshold for electricity imports in winter, to reconsider the lifetime of nuclear power plants and to open up the electricity market completely.
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