"As alarmist rhetoric proliferates, they share the common theme of the threat of a loss of control over a strategic domain for Switzerland," warns Dominique Rochat, Energy & Infrastructure Project Manager at Economiesuisse.
It is supported by politicians from the left and the right, by the business community, by the sector concerned and by the cantons. All stress its importance for the future security of Switzerland’s energy supply. This unifier is “the electricity agreement” concluded with the European Union.
But, as in the Asterix comics, a small Gaulish village resists it: it brings together personalities with diametrically opposed political orientations. While alarmist speeches abound, they share a common theme — the threat of a loss of control over a domain strategic for Switzerland. Yet, on closer inspection, many of their arguments are contradicted by the agreement’s very text, and they fail to mention its importance for our own supply security.
“Everything is fine, why change?” argue the opponents of the electricity agreement. In reality, everything is changing — and things will get worse if nothing is done. Located at the heart of electric Europe, Switzerland is effectively being pushed to the margins of the system set up by its neighbors, based on an integrated market. This situation penalizes our producers and undermines our supply security.
Although our dams contribute to balancing the European grid, Switzerland urgently needs to import electricity in winter — this was the case in 18 of the last 20 years.
However, since 2025, European countries have reserved 70% of the capacities of their cross-border grids for their own exchanges. Switzerland is therefore no longer taken into account, which creates a risk regarding the availability of the electricity we will need, disrupts the operation of our grid and raises costs for consumers. Moreover, this situation encourages oversizing of reserves, again at the expense of Swiss customers.
The supply of electricity is, rightly, considered a highly sensitive area. In the agreement, Switzerland obtained the preservation of the central role of public authorities in this sector: this is written in black and white in the first articles.
Thus, electricity companies and public authorities will remain majority shareholders within Swissgrid, the high-voltage grid operator. Nothing changes for the cantons and municipalities, which will retain ownership of the electricity distributors, and the concerned local authorities will be able to continue managing them.
Switzerland will also remain master of its “white gold.” The agreement provides no restriction regarding hydropower. Local authorities will remain entirely sovereign in granting concessions as well as in setting hydropower fees. European provisions on this matter are not part of the agreement. More generally, Switzerland retains full freedom to define its energy policy, thereby preserving the competences of the cantons.
Will the Swiss be delivered defenseless to the electricity sharks? This is the scarecrow regularly brandished — wrongly — by opponents of the agreement. The text indeed provides that Switzerland can guarantee a basic supply for small customers, at regulated prices. A practice that corresponds to that of many EU member states. The Federal Council moreover proposes very favorable rules for small consumers, who will at all times retain the possibility of staying with their local supplier or choosing a competitor.
The agreement greatly improves supply security, since it specifies that cross-border connections must remain open, including in times of crisis. This removes the sword of Damocles that today’s European transmission network, reserved primarily for EU members, represents.
Switzerland will also be able to maintain electricity reserves, the sizing of which will take into account its national particularities and will be defined by a Swiss authority. This provision will remain valid regardless of any developments in European law. At the same time, our country will have to take into account the European provisions relating to reserves — a justified requirement to avoid creating distortions.
Furthermore, the agreement recognizes the main existing support instruments in the electricity sector, intended for the development of renewable energies. The controversies over the removal of these aids therefore do not stem from the agreement itself, but from the internal implementation proposed by the Federal Council. The only necessary tweak will consist of removing support when prices are negative, a highly desirable measure.
Electricity is set to become the pillar of our country’s energy supply, which implies mobilizing all necessary means to guarantee supply security. The agreement concluded with Europe constitutes one of the essential measures to achieve this. All the more so because Switzerland obtained a tailor-made solution, which guarantees it access to the continent’s electrical resources and ensures coordination of its system with that of its neighbors, while preserving its specificities.
In the face of these stakes, a public debate is indispensable. But it must go beyond a gut rejection of Europe and the use of arguments unrelated to the outcome of the negotiations. Turning inward, self-sufficiency or ideology will do nothing to help us ensure a reliable and affordable electricity supply for businesses, public services and citizens.
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