"Bordering on greed" Swiss pay hundreds of millions too much for electricity - every year
The Swiss pay hundreds of millions too much for electricity every year, says the price watchdog. He wants the formula for the permitted profit to be changed. The industry is fighting back tooth and nail.
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- Swiss people pay hundreds of millions too much for electricity every year, says the price watchdog. He wants a change to the formula for the permitted profit.
- The industry is fighting back tooth and nail.
- The profits raise many questions.
The dispute over the level of grid fees is coming to a head. Private individuals and companies are paying millions too much every year, criticize both the price watchdog and the industry. The federal network operators generate enormous profits from the monopoly business - 900 million francs a year, according to calculations. The Federal Council is planning to reduce these profits from 2026 by means of a new calculation formula, which would lead to a reduction of around CHF 127 million.
The electricity industry is strongly opposed to this planned change, as reported by theNZZ am Sonntag. Michael Frank, Director of the Association of Electricity Companies, emphasizes that the current system has proven its worth and warns of negative effects on long-term investments in the electricity infrastructure. Swissgrid is also concerned that the proposed reduction could jeopardize investment security.
"Completely risk-free monopoly business"
On the other hand, price watchdog Stefan Meierhans is calling for an even greater reduction. He criticizes the fact that the current interest rates lead to excessive profits for electricity operators, which costs electricity customers CHF 400 million too much each year. "We are gold-plating the electricity sector's grid," he says. Meierhans proposes a new method that is more closely aligned with the yields on government bonds.
Roger Ambort, Managing Director of the Major Electricity Customers Group, criticized the high profits of grid operators to the NZZ am Sonntag. "In my view, this borders on greed and is disconcerting," Ambort is quoted as saying. "It is a completely risk-free monopoly business with a state-guaranteed profit."
Large institutional investors are also investing in the business. For example, the pension fund of the canton of Zurich bought 15 percent of Swissgrid last year. It is unclear how much the fund paid.
According to the NZZ am Sonntag, however, the investment is likely to be worthwhile. "The electricity grid is the new Eldorado for pension funds," says Roger Ambort. And poses the question: "Is it really the responsibility of electricity consumers to secure a good pension for Zurich cantonal employees?"
