Electricity sector in Switzerland

The electricity sector in Switzerland relies mainly on hydroelectricity, since the Alps cover almost two-thirds of the country's land mass, providing many large mountain lakes and artificial reservoirs suited for hydro power. In addition, the water masses drained from the Swiss Alps are intensively used by run-of-the-river hydroelectricity (ROR). With 9,052 kWh per person in 2008, the country's electricity consumption is relatively high and was 22% above the European Union's average.

Small hydropower plant Buchholz, Switzerland

Swiss Electricity by Source

•   Hydro Riv.: 17,000 GWh (26.6%)
•   Hydro Dam: 22,600 GWh (35.3%)
•   Solar PV: 2,850 GWh (4.5%)
•   Wood: 675 GWh (1.1%)
•   Wind: 145 GWh (0.2%)
•   Waste Incin.: 2,180 GWh (3.4%)
•   Nuclear: 18,500 GWh (28.9%)

Electricity sector in Switzerland, in 2021. Mostly carbon free with hydro (62%) and nuclear (29%).^[1]

In 2013, net generated electricity amounted to 66.2 terawatt-hours (TWh). About 60% of Switzerland's electricity generation comes from renewable sources, most of it from hydro (56.6%), while non-hydro renewables supplied a small contribution of 3.4%. Nuclear contributed 37.6% to the country's electricity production, and only about 2.5% were generated by fossil-fuel-based thermal power stations.^[2][3]

Consumption

According to the IEA the electricity use (gross production + imports – exports – transmission/distribution losses) in Switzerland was in 2004 60.6 TWh, (2007) 61.6 TWh and (2008) 63.5 TWh.^[4] In 2008 Switzerland consumed electricity per inhabitant 122% compared to the European Union 15 average (9,052 / EU15: 7,409 electricity use per inhabitant 2008, kWh/person) ^[5] and 133% compared to the United Kingdom (2008: UK 372.19 TWh per 59.9milj. person, and Switzerland 63,53 TWh per 7,71 milj.person).^[4]

In 2023, Switzerland's domestic electricity production reached a record 72.1 terawatt-hours (TWh), a 13.5% increase from the previous year. After accounting for 5.4 TWh consumed by storage pumps, net electricity generation stood at 66.7 TWh. Hydropower plants, including both run-of-river and storage facilities, produced 40.8 TWh—21.7% more than in 2022—contributing 56.6% to the total electricity production. Nuclear power plants generated 23.3 TWh, accounting for 32.4% of the total. The remaining 11.0% was produced by conventional thermal and renewable energy plants.^[6]

In 2023, Switzerland's final electricity consumption was 56.1 TWh, a decrease of 1.7% compared to 2022. This reduction is equivalent to the annual consumption of approximately 200,000 households. The decline occurred despite factors such as economic growth (GDP increased by 0.7%), population growth (up by 1.3%), and a 1.8% increase in heating degree days, which typically raise electricity demand.^[7]

Hydro power

Hydroelectricity is by far the country's most important source of electricity, and contributing more than half to its electricity generation. Hydro power is generally divided into conventional hydroelectricity (using a dam) and run-of-the-river hydroelectricity. In addition, pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) plays an important role in Switzerland, being used in combination with base load power plants and nuclear power from France.^{[citation needed]}

In 2020, Switzerland's total installed capacity was 22.9 GW, surpassing the peak load of 9.6 GW. Hydropower comprised 68% of this capacity, though its yearly production is limited by storage capacity and water availability. In 2021, hydroelectric production totaled approximately 40 TWh, factoring in 4 TWh from pump energy, and led to a net generation of 36 TWh.^[8][9]

Small hydro

Main article: Small hydro

The KEV remuneration (see below) also applies to small-scale hydro power plants with nameplate capacities up to 10 megawatts.

Nuclear power

Beznau

Gösgen

Leibstadt

Mühleberg

Lucens

Switzerland nuclear power plants (view)
 Active plants
 Closed plants

Main article: Nuclear power in Switzerland

There are four nuclear power plants, with a total of five operational reactors. In 2013, they produced 24.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity. Nuclear power accounted for 36.4% of the nation's gross electricity generation of 68.3 TWh^[10] In addition, there are a number of research reactors in Switzerland, one of them at the EPFL.

In 2011, the federal authorities decided to gradually phase out nuclear power in Switzerland as a consequence of the Fukushima accident in Japan. In late 2013 the operator BKW decided to cease all electrical generation in 2019 in the Mühleberg plant

As of December 8, 2014, the National Council has voted to limit the operational life-time of the Beznau Nuclear Power Plant—which houses the oldest commercial reactor in the world—to 60 years, forcing decommissioning upon its two reactors by 2029 and 2031, respectively.^[11]

In 2021, nuclear power constituted 22% of Switzerland's Total Energy Supply (TES) and accounted for 31% of total electricity generation. Additionally, Switzerland ranked eighth among International Energy Agency (IEA) countries in terms of the proportion of nuclear power in its electricity generation mix.^[8][9]

Oil power

From 1965 until 1999, the Chavalon plant in Valais, above the Collombey refinery, had an electrical power output of two times 142 megawatts. The refinery was shut down in 2015, and will be dismantled until 2022.

In 2021, the contribution of oil to electricity generation was minimal, accounting for just 0.05% of the total electricity produced.^[8][9]

Gas power

A newly built gas power plant is debated to cover future power shortages during the winter. There are considerations regarding a gas turbine testing facility in Birr AG belonging to the Italian engineering firm Ansaldo Energia. The facility is connected to both the gas and the electricity grid, and when both installed turbines are running, it feeds 740 megawatts into the Swiss electricity grid.^[12]

In 2021, the contribution of natural gas to electricity generation was minimal, accounting for just 0.8% of the total electricity produced.^[8][9]

Non-hydro renewables

Feed-in remuneration at cost (KEV)

See also: Feed-in tariffs

The federal government adopted feed-in tariffs to offer a cost-based compensation to renewable energy producers. The feed-in remuneration at cost (KEV, German: Kostendeckende Einspeisevergütung, French: Rétribution à prix coûtant du courant injecté, Italian: Rimunerazione a copertura dei costi per l'immissione in rete di energia elettrica) is the primary instrument for promoting the deployment of power systems using renewable energy sources.

It covers the difference between the production and the market price, and guarantees producers of electricity from renewable sources a price that corresponds to their production costs. The following renewable energy sources are supported by the KEV remuneration: distributed small hydro (with capacities up to 10 MW), solar photovoltaics, wind power, geothermal energy, biomass and biogas (from agriculture, waste and water treatment).

The KEV remuneration is financed by collecting a surcharge on the consumed kilowatt-hour of electricity. As in other countries, industries with a large electricity consumption are exempt from the surcharge, which has gradually been increased and stands at 1.5 cents per kWh as of 2014.^[13]

The remuneration tariffs for renewables have been specified based on reference power plants for each individual technology. Feed-in tariffs are applicable for 20 to 25 years, depending on the technology. In view of the anticipated technological progress and the increasing degree of market maturity of renewables energy technologies (especially for solar PV), the feed-in tariffs are subjected to a gradual reduction once or twice a year. These reductions only apply to new production facilities that are put into operation.

Planned installations of renewable power facilities have to be registered with Swissgrid, the national network operator. As of the end of 2014, a growing waiting list for solar photovoltaic systems has accumulated as demand excess the capped capacities given by the currently available funds of the KEV remuneration.

Wind power

Swiss wind power accounted for only 146 GWh or 0.2% of net-electricity production in 2019.

Solar power

Main article: Solar power in Switzerland

For many years, Switzerland's pace of deploying solar PV had been lagging significantly behind its neighboring Germany and Italy. However, installed capacity of solar PV increased by 300 MW or 69% to 737 MW in 2013 and is likely to continue its strong growth due to the recently ramped up KEV funds. In 2014, another installed 320 MW brought the country beyond the gigawatt mark and the IEA-PVPS estimates the now installed capacity sufficient to supply close to 2% of the domestic electricity demands.^[14]

Geothermal power

An induced seismicity in Basel led the city to suspend a geothermal energy project and conduct a seismic hazard evaluation, which resulted in its cancellation in December 2009.^[15]

Global warming

Emissions of carbon dioxide in total, per capita in 2007 were 5.6 tons CO₂ compared to EU 27 average 7.9 tons CO₂.^[16]

Carbon dioxide emissions

A study published in 2009 showed that the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) due to the electricity consumed in Switzerland (total: 5.7 million tonnes) are seven times higher than the emissions of carbon dioxide due to the electricity produced in Switzerland (total: 0.8 million tonnes).^[17]

The study also show that the production in Switzerland (64.6 TWh) is similar to the amount of electricity consumed in the country (63.7 TWh).^[17] Overall, Switzerland exports 7.6 TWh and imports 6.8 TWh; but, in terms of emissions of carbon dioxide, Switzerland exports "clean" electricity causing emissions of 0.1 million tonnes of CO₂ and imports "dirty" electricity causing emissions of 5 million tonnes of CO₂.^[17]

The electricity produced in Switzerland generated 14 grammes of CO₂ per kilowatt hour. The electricity consumed in Switzerland generated 100 grammes of CO₂ per kilowatt hour.^[18]

Power stations

See also: List of power stations in Switzerland

A 1.6 GWh flow battery started construction in Laufenburg in 2025.^[19]

In Switzerland, there also exists a single-phase AC grid operated with 16.7 Hz for power supply of railway lines, see List of installations for 15 kV AC railway electrification in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.