’We need an energy shock’

Tobias Schmidt, Massimo Filippini, Annalisa Manera. (Photographs: Daniel Winkler) - We all understand the importance of energy security. To maintain it, we need to chart the right course. But how can we know what that is? The Swiss Federal Council has warned there could be shortages of gas and electricity as 'early as this winter. How realistic do you think this scenario is' Tobias Schmidt: That depends primarily on factors that are out of Switzerland's control. We can't view the Swiss energy system in complete isolation from the European electricity system. The biggest risk is Russia slashing its gas deliveries. A harsh winter would raise the risk of shortages in countries like Germany, which uses large amounts of gas for heating. Annalisa Manera: The greatest immediate risk is power cuts - not just this winter, but also in the longer term. We all saw what happened in Texas in 2021 when a winter storm led to massive outages. And our energy problems are only going to get worse, because now that we've decided to electrify transport, heating and certain segments of industry, we're going to need more electricity. Schmidt: I don't expect Europe to be plunged into the kind of situation we saw in Texas. The Texas power grid isn't connected to the rest of the US, so it's more susceptible to failure. We have a synchronous electrical grid that stretches right across Continental Europe, so it's much easier to compensate for power plant outages. How do you view the current situation, Mr Filippini?