media conference. This is how the canton of Zurich is preparing for an energy shortage.
It’s getting colder – and the impending lack of energy is ringing alarm bells across Europe. From 10 a.m., the canton of Zurich will provide information on the situation and what measures are being taken to get through the winter safely.
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10:34 a.m
Neukom: general street lamp shutdown impossible
For safety reasons, we cannot just turn off the streetlights. We need to take a closer look. At the moment we mainly have high-pressure sodium lamps in operation. Unfortunately, it cannot be dimmed. The solution would be to switch to LED – that would save 40 percent of the electricity. We work together with the communities.
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10:31 a.m
Neukom: Saving tip toggle switch
With a toggle switch you can significantly reduce the standby consumption. Room temperature also reduces a lot. Keep plus window closed. According to Neukom, this is a measure that is understandable and not very complicated. That is why it is his recommendation to the population.
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10:29 a.m
Stand-by consumes a lot of electricity
In the central administration, the power consumption at the weekend is only half as high, but there is none there. This is due to the standby. It accounts for up to 10 percent of electricity consumption. That could be saved without hurting anyone.
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10:27 a.m
Measures by the canton
The Grossmünster and other building lighting should be turned off. The lighting of the Rhine Falls should also be turned off. 10,000 gigawatt hours of electricity are consumed in the entire canton of Zurich. All communities must contribute, and so must each individual. We will convert dual-current systems, including gas heaters that can be converted to diesel.
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10:23 a.m
quotas in the worst case
If everything goes well, we can generate 90 percent of the electricity ourselves. If things go really badly, there will be quotas and published shutdowns, says Neukom. This then has an impact on the economy. In this case, the canton has no decision-making power, that rests with the federal government.
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10:21 a.m
Neukom: presents scenarios for the winter
Nobody can see into the future, which is why we work with scenarios in which we assume various factors – such as a weather forecast. How is Germany and France doing, from which we import gas and electricity. In the good scenario, we have a mild winter and the gas supply is hardly restricted. Then voluntary energy saving takes effect. If things get worse with restricted imports and cold weather: then the measures taken by the federal government will take effect. If that is not enough, we can activate emergency generators and generate additional energy with diesel.
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10:17 a.m
This is how the distribution of responsibilities looks like
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10.15 a.m
Conclusion: We are well prepared
Security of supply is the product of shared responsibility. The EKZ implements the federal guidelines here. The situation is currently tense, but one is well prepared, Bucher concludes.
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10.13
shutdowns carried out as the last measure
The final point would be executed shutdowns. We definitely want to avoid that. We do these rehearsals with the control centers, not live of course.
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10:12 a.m
We are in readiness level one
In BG 2 to BG 3, the voluntary measures come into effect. In the highest level BG 4, coercive measures are prescribed by the federal government. This goes as far as quotas, i.e. reduced quantity restrictions. However, the quota only applies to large consumers. No private household is affected here.
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10:06 a.m
Three types of breaks
There are three types of power cuts: A power cut is the standard case, for example when an excavator hits a cable while working on a road. That’s easy to fix. In the event of a blackout, the aim is to avoid a domino effect.
Normally, demand and production are balanced. When demand is higher, grid stability is too difficult to maintain. The third case is the power shortage. This is expected in advance and is not a sudden event like the other cases. Here, the Federal Council is responsible for determining the measures.
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10:04 a.m
Daniel Bucher gives an overview of the current situation
The following points can lead to an electricity shortage: The weather, because Switzerland has to import electricity in winter. The problem: the French. Some nuclear power plants are not in operation and Germany has a shortage of gas. Switzerland also imports its gas from there. Security of supply is a product of shared responsibility. The entire chain is only as strong as the individual links, says Bucher.
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10.00 a.m
The media conference begins
Government Councilor Martin Neukom, Director of Construction, Jörg Kündig, President of the Association of Municipal Councils of the Canton of Zurich, and Daniel Bucher, Head of Networks at EKZ.
The Zurich government council does not rule out that there will be a power shortage next winter, as he recently announced in response to a request from the cantonal parliament.
A power shortage lasting weeks or even months is “one of the most likely crisis scenarios in the near future”, reports the NZZ from the reply of the cantonal council.
In one situation, the supply of the population with such food would no longer be guaranteed, according to the government council. In order to bridge a possible blackout, which “can last for a few days”, the residents of the canton should create an emergency supply that must last for around a week.
At a media conference, government councilor Martin Neukom informed how the situation is today.