News

Switzerland presents four-stage program against blackout

The growing popularity of electric cars may be a boon for the environment in many ways. But the trend also has its drawbacks, as Switzerland is now making clear. As electric cars are increasingly on the road in the country, the power grid is under heavy strain in many places. Experts now fear power outages for the winter in light of the looming shortage.

The fear of blackout

Just how important an independent energy supply is is currently being demonstrated to us as never before by the war in Ukraine. One country that is even more dependent on energy supplies from third countries is Switzerland. The country is not only supplied with gas from other countries. Its electricity supply is also largely based on deliveries from other countries such as Germany and France. However, as these two countries, for their part, are concerned about a secure power supply in the approaching winter, fears of power outages are growing among many Swiss. To minimize the risks, the Swiss parliament is now considering some drastic steps.

Four-stage program to provide relief

Depending on the supply situation, a four-stage relief plan will be used to respond. The dreaded local blackout should blossom for the Swiss only when the savings measures do not take effect. The aim is to distribute the load as fairly as possible and take turns in briefly disconnecting regions from the grid. Essential areas such as medical care or the supply of water and energy will be left out of the regulation. For owners of electric cars, stricter regulations will also apply in these cases. For example, they will only be allowed to move their vehicle if it is an “absolutely necessary journey”. Given that there are just under 110,000 registered e-cars in Switzerland, this could well cause some resentment. However, it must be emphasized here that these are regulations for emergencies. Before that, the steps are played, which in turn should provide relief.

  • You want to produce your own electricity? We’ve tested the Jackery Explorer 1000 Pro Powerstation with matching solar panels for you

Level 1 is about little things, like banning the use of leaf blowers or turned off seat heaters on chairlifts. Friends of wellness temples will be angry about turned off saunas and whirlpools. If the so-called escalation stage 2 follows, the effects are likely to be more noticeable. Then, for example, escalators will be switched off. On top of that, streaming services will only be able to offer their services in SD and no longer in high resolution. Gamers in particular will be annoyed by the third stage. Here, the use of home game consoles is to be banned. But gaming PCs and playback devices such as Blu-Ray players will also fall under the ban. Since floodlights are to be banned, this would also mean a temporary end to sporting events – at least in the amateur sector. The mining of cryptocurrencies is then also to be banned.

Caution is better than indulgence

In the end, Swiss politicians must be commended for their plan. After all, it’s better to be prepared for an emergency than to have to react quickly on the spot. We hope that our neighboring country will get through the dark season well, even without calling out the escalation levels.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

Related Articles

Neue Antworten laden...

Avatar of Basic Tutorials
Basic Tutorials

Gehört zum Inventar

8,342 Beiträge 2,111 Likes

The growing popularity of electric cars may be a boon for the environment in many ways. But the trend also has its drawbacks, as Switzerland is now making clear. As electric cars are increasingly on the road in the country, the power grid is under heavy strain in many places. Experts now fear power outages … (Weiterlesen...)

Antworten Like

Back to top button