Free choice of electricity supplier
Large-scale customers with electricity consumption of 100,000 kilowatt hours per year or more have been able to choose their electricity supplier since 2009. This first stage of deregulation was successful. Now, all customers in Switzerland will benefit from the option to choose and thus from greater transparency, efficiency and innovation.
BKW welcomes this important step towards more free enterprise and competition. It therefore favours the Federal Council’s draft of the new Electricity Supply Act (ESA) submitted for consultation. However, with the aim of ensuring an efficient market for the benefit of the economy and customers, BKW firmly rejects the unnecessary and distorting regulations.
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Requirement for the EU electricity agreement
The complete deregulation of the Swiss electricity market is also a condition for a future electricity agreement with the European Union. Switzerland is integrated into the European system in many respects – not least because of the physical network.
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Frequently asked questions
Complete deregulation will enable all customers to freely choose their electricity supplier. This benefits the entire Swiss economy. The size of the market and the number of potential suppliers ensure effective competition.
BKW supports the basic supply requirements proposed by the Federal Council. However, explicit regulation of end customer prices is neither necessary nor sensible. It would not achieve the goal of an effective market and would result in high administrative costs. It would be better to monitor the market for abuses, which has been successfully done in most electricity markets in Europe that have been completely deregulated (e.g. Germany, Austria, Benelux).
BKW welcomes the quality standard of a standard product envisaged in future for the basic supply (standard Swiss electricity from renewable energies). A number of electricity supply companies already offer such basic supply products, including BKW with its “Energy Blue” and “Energy Green” products.
In order to prevent competitive distortions in the electricity market, there are already strict unbundling rules separating network operations from other activities. According to the draft of the revision of the Electricity Supply Act, network operators will continue to be responsible for the basic supply. In the context of a complete market deregulation, however, this would run counter to the system, be inefficient and make innovation more difficult. The lack of compatibility with the unbundling rules in the EU – in the event of the conclusion of an electricity agreement with the EU – would make it necessary to revise the new Electricity Supply Act as soon as it enters into effect.