The Swiss would rather prevent than cure, in the absence of a reassuring federal plan to get through a winter when gas and electricity could run out. In this country where the average altitude is 1,700 meters and where the mercury can persist in the negative, including in the big cities of the hollow of the valley, one does not trifle with the cold. At the risk of giving in to alarmism.
Fire of any wood
In fear of a “blackout”, many households have rushed to the generators. Small solar installations are out of stock. Sales of backup power stations, which charge like a battery, have increased 20-fold, according to e-commerce leader Digitec Galaxus. And firewood sales literally exploded (+1,897%), echoing the toilet paper frenzy during the coronavirus crisis.
It must be said that the words of the chairman of the Federal Electricity Commission, Werner Luginbühl, did nothing to reassure. He recently recommended “to have enough candles and wood for those who have a stove” in anticipation of cyclic load shedding across the entire national network. A “phase 4” of the winter plan goes so far as to provide for cuts of four hours.
Strong vulnerabilities
The Confederation and the cantons do not rule out the most extreme scenarios: impossibility of withdrawing money from ATMs, of paying by card in shops or of refueling at gas stations, which could lead to riots or looting. However, an exercise carried out in 2014 made it possible to resolve a number of shortcomings. Generators have been added where they were missing, in the police or in hospitals. If necessary, the State has made it possible to distribute cash for those who can no longer use their payment card.
However, Switzerland is particularly exposed to energy shortages, this year more than in previous years. The country, which does not have its own gas storage capacity, is dependent on other countries for deliveries. Its hydroelectric resources are, for the time being, not guaranteed, while the summer here was also marked by drought. Importing is not self-evident: last year, 60% of the electricity came from France, but it will certainly be more difficult for France to supply as much this year, when half of its nuclear fleet is at shutdown for technical reasons.
Crisis prevention, a tradition
Some are already preparing for the worst of the worst. Since the invasion of Ukraine, bunker repairers no longer know how to meet the demand. There are more than 30,000 in Switzerland, due to a law passed in 1963 making this installation compulsory (1). Enough to protect the entire population, i.e. 9 million inhabitants.
This reappropriation of war shelters responds well to the long tradition of preparing for crisis situations. In Switzerland, emergency sirens are tested once a year, and stocking up on basic necessities is a practice that has been passed down for several generations.