FinhautEmosson, Switzerland, Aug 26 (ABC): Switzerland is among the world’s wealthiest countries, but its reliance on Russian gas and French nuclear power — both in short supply — has it bracing for power shortages and even blackouts this winter. With hundreds of hydropower plants spread across the Alps, Switzerland produces more than enough power in the summer months.
However, the landlocked nation is forced to turn to imports when the cold sets in. That is not usually a problem, but this year, with the war in Ukraine, and Russia slashing gas deliveries to much of Europe, the threat of severe power shortages is looming. While other European countries are also feeling the sting, the situation is particularly precarious in Switzerland, which lacks its own gas storage installations.
It usually depends on imports from the surrounding European Union, and especially of gas-derived electricity from Germany, but with the bloc wary about its own power supply, non-member Switzerland finds itself at the back of the queue. Compounding the problem, neighbouring France has been forced to halt production at half of its reactors, mainly due to corrosion problems, Stephane Genoud, an energy management professor at the Swiss HES-SO university, told AFP. Bern has been working to build up Switzerland’s energy production and storage systems, but even the grand opening next month of a new, powerful pumped-storage hydroelectric plant is unlikely to help avoid problems this winter.