Power grid security – Electricity: EU court rules against Switzerland – News

Swissgrid is taking a decision by the EU court on the issue of electricity platforms to the next instance.

Tensions have existed between Switzerland and the EU for years: Brussels wants to reorganize relations, and the first attempt at a framework agreement has failed. The tensions affect the Swiss high-voltage grid. The EU Commission wants to exclude Switzerland from important European bodies that deal with network security. Swissgrid therefore went to court – and was rebuffed.

The Court of Justice of the European Union agrees with the EU Commission across the board: Brussels can demand that Switzerland be kicked out of the so-called Terre platform. Terre is a purely technical body. There, European grid operators agree on short-term electricity deliveries in order to keep the grids stable.

The judgment for Brussels and against Swissgrid was already made at the end of December. So far, it has not received any public attention, but its importance is great and negative, says Jörg Spicker. He is a strategic advisor at Swissgrid. “This ultimately gives the Commission the opportunity to act completely arbitrarily towards Swissgrid, and we cannot accept that.”

Free pass for the EU Commission

In fact, the EU judges give the Commission a free pass: They can decide whether to let Switzerland participate in Terre and similar electricity bodies, according to the judgment.

Swissgrid interprets EU law differently and feels entitled to participate. In addition, all European network operators wanted to have Switzerland on board, says Spicker.

The Swiss network operator has appealed the judgment to the last instance, the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The case has been pending there since spring. “We have submitted a detailed counter-note and we hope that it will be appreciated accordingly,” says Spicker.

Switzerland doesn’t need it

The EU Commission does not comment on the legal dispute on request. However, the court documents show that the Commission sees no entitlement for Switzerland as a non-EU member and without an electricity agreement with the EU. And she doesn’t think Swissgrid’s participation is necessary for a stable European power grid.

That is untenable, says Jörg Spicker from Swissgrid, the neighboring countries in particular would benefit greatly: “This applies in particular to southern Germany. And a large part of the electricity flows within Europe as a whole goes through Switzerland. To say that Switzerland does not matter, we definitely cannot share this assessment. »

Terre is threatened with expulsion, a similar power struggle is emerging in another body and Swissgrid was not even allowed to join two new electricity platforms. It’s getting more dangerous every year, says Spicker, because the European network operators are increasingly shifting their agreements to these bodies. «The exclusion of Switzerland leads to increasing threats to the stable and secure network operation in Switzerland and ultimately also in the EU. This is a development that is accelerating more and more. It’s obviously politically motivated.”

The EU Commission has not commented on the allegation that this was a politically motivated maneuver.