Switzerland prepares to do without gas from Moscow at any time
Switzerland risks being inevitably affected by Russia’s threat to cut off gas to “unfriendly” countries. Discussions are ongoing with EU countries.
As a reminder, Switzerland does not have gas reserves on its territory, and natural gas is not one of the fuels for which it is compulsory to constitute them (photo illustration).
KEYSTONE
The blackmail of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who threatens to cut off gas to “unfriendly” countries that do not pay their bills in roubles, is putting Swiss energy supplies under pressure. Switzerland, which does not obtain supplies directly from Russia but through its neighbours, would inevitably be affected. Especially since the country has no reserves on its own soil.
This is the first lever to reduce consumption before that of a possible rationing of large consumers and an appeal to small consumers to reduce their consumption.
Oil instead
As a reminder, Switzerland does not have gas reserves on its territory, and natural gas is not one of the fuels for which it is compulsory to constitute them. This is due to the lack of suitable locations, such as salt mines or porous layers, details the 2019 edition of the OFAE’s strategic storage report.
In the event of a shortage of natural gas, the Confederation’s plans provide for replacing the latter with extra-light fuel oil, which can supply mixed installations. But for industry and services, as well as collective boilers, the proportion of mixed installations is less than a quarter, specifies Ivo Zimmermann, head of communication for the umbrella industry of the Swissmem machinery industry.
Switzerland still has natural gas reserves, but these are located abroad. The Gaznat company thus has gas reservoirs in Etrez, in the French department of Ain. Gaznat is also a shareholder in the company that operates the reservoirs, and agreements exist to prevent discrimination against Swiss customers.
But the risk that the country where the reserves are stored decides to use it as a priority in the event of a crisis exists, recognizes Thomas Hegglin, spokesman for the Swiss Association of the gas industry (Asig).
Worried industrialists
For their part, the industrialists are worried to see the Confederation favoring the supply of households in the event of a shortage, we recognize at Swissmem.
Use EU stocks
The Confederation is in discussion with the neighboring countries to access a common use of the stocks of the European Union, which decided to fill the reserves to 90%. A federal task force bringing together all the gas players in Switzerland is currently working on the various scenarios planned for next winter and must submit its proposals at the end of April.
In French-speaking Switzerland, the share of Russian gas is 19%, half that of German-speaking Switzerland, whose network is supplied largely from Germany, according to Gaznat.
On Thursday, Vladimir Putin said that European buyers should pay for their gas purchases in rubles from accounts in Russian banks, otherwise “ongoing contracts will be stopped” and deliveries suspended.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz immediately replied that European countries will continue to pay for Russian gas in euros and dollars as it is “written in the contracts”. Traveling to Berlin, French Economy Minister Bruno Lemaire immediately said that France and Germany were preparing for a potential stoppage of Russian gas imports.
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