The objectives formulated by politicians are admittedly ambitious, but achievable.

Each month, we ask different sectors and professions about specific topics. For this October, the floor is given to energy suppliers regarding Switzerland's energy policy.

The responses of Thomas Porchet, Head of Swiss Energy Policy at Axpo.

The Parliament and the Federal Council are focusing on increasing renewable energy in Switzerland, but shouldn't we rather encourage the modernization of the grid as well as the improvement of energy storage?

The development of renewable energies is inseparable from the expansion of the grid. Together with the entire electricity sector, we have drawn attention to this point several times. With the project to accelerate grid development, the Federal Council wants to create essential conditions so that development targets can be met. We note, however, that the project, currently under consultation, targets only the transmission grid. Yet it would be equally important to facilitate and accelerate the expansion of the distribution grid.

Indeed, energy supply in winter is the main challenge for Switzerland. For the seasonal transfer of the additional summer production to winter, we will need a greater number of pumped-storage hydroelectric power plants. They will allow the grid to be relieved in the short term and to store excess production for the night or even a few days. By including the projects from the hydropower roundtable in the Electricity Act, Parliament has created a prerequisite for expanding storage capacities. However, it must be recognized that the potential for hydropower is largely exhausted.

In order for the targets to be achieved, measures will need to be taken to speed up and better coordinate the authorization procedures for production and grid installations.

Isn't it shocking that the Confederation is considering throttling solar production because the grid is not sufficiently adapted to absorb all that energy?

In order to stabilize grid operation and avoid excessive economic costs, it is sensible and necessary to regulate production peaks.

As a producer and distributor, what are your expectations of the authorities to get out of this impasse?

For the objectives of energy and climate policy to be achieved, additional measures will have to be taken to speed up and better coordinate the authorization procedures for production and grid installations. These measures include, in particular, sufficient resources so that the authorities responsible for issuing permits can carry out the procedures more quickly.

In your experience, are the goals set by policymakers regarding the energy transition realistic and achievable, or, on the contrary, still very hypothetical?

The objectives formulated by policymakers are ambitious, but can quite certainly be achieved. At Axpo, we are trying to show the way with our scenario called "Power Switcher". However, supply during the winter semester will remain a challenge. As things stand, this will require additional production capacities that can be used at short notice, and guaranteed access to the European market.

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