The federal government is preparing plans to reduce consumption by Swiss companies this winter. For retailers, this could mean the closure of hundreds of branches. In France, the sector is announcing measures
The more the weeks go by, the more the scenario of an energy blackout seems likely this winter in Switzerland. An article in the SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday that the main players in the retail sector are currently holding intensive discussions with the Confederation and several electricity suppliers. The various parties must agree on how Switzerland can overcome a shortage of several weeks. Very specific cost-cutting measures are being prepared: the Migros Group could close one in five of its 130 shops.
According to the Sunday newspaper, the Confederation is banking on a four-stage implementation plan. It includes: calls for savings, consumption restrictions, quotas and network cuts. If Switzerland were to implement these rationing measures, electricity consumers would only receive a “percentage” of the normal amount consumed. Businesses and supermarkets would only have access to about 80% of their normal consumption, according to the SonntagsZeitung.
With this in mind, Migros is preparing its management plan and therefore the possibility of closures. “We do not want to comment on concrete measures. We are in contact with the authorities,” said Marcel Schlatter, a spokesman for the company, to the German-language weekly. According to him, a shortage will nevertheless force Migros to restrict its activities and “concentrate on the essentials”. At Coop, caution is also the order of the day. “The fulfilment of our supply mission is Coop’s top priority,” said spokesperson Rebecca Veiga. “We are in principle dealing with the current situation and developing corresponding contingency plans.”
France focuses on “energy sobriety”
And such plans are also flourishing abroad. The French retail sector, from E.Leclerc to Picard, Carrefour and Casino, has agreed on an “energy sobriety” plan to be implemented in the autumn, according to AFP. “Faced with the risk of electricity supply shortages announced by the government for this winter”, the French federation, Perifem, which brings together all the players in the retail sector to act on energy and environmental issues, has defined “common and concrete measures” to reduce energy consumption in shops, starting on 15 October.
It is planned to switch off illuminated signs “as soon as the shop closes” – as opposed to generally one hour after closing at present – and to “systematically reduce light intensity”, by reducing the lighting of the sales area by half before the public arrives and by 30% during “critical consumption periods”. Other measures are also planned, such as “cutting off air renewal at night, shifting the production of ice” and emergency measures such as lowering the temperature of sales outlets to 17 degrees this autumn and winter, if requested by a regulatory authority.
While “the electricity bill represented 30%” of the net result of the brands “before the recent surges in energy costs”, it is “essential to reduce the energy bill and to mobilise together to avoid too great a repercussion on prices for consumers”, the federation recognises.
The Media is in desperate need of the next big fear mongering story.
I thought the huge majority of electricity in Switzerland was nuclear/hydro? What will be causing these shortages?
They are not considering anything, all they did was make emergency plans like they do for various other probable and improbable scenarios. Do they really think Migros, a multi-million corporation is just going to wait for something to happen and then decide how to react?
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In English:
The federal government is preparing plans to reduce consumption by Swiss companies this winter. For retailers, this could mean the closure of hundreds of branches. In France, the sector is announcing measures
The more the weeks go by, the more the scenario of an energy blackout seems likely this winter in Switzerland. An article in the SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday that the main players in the retail sector are currently holding intensive discussions with the Confederation and several electricity suppliers. The various parties must agree on how Switzerland can overcome a shortage of several weeks. Very specific cost-cutting measures are being prepared: the Migros Group could close one in five of its 130 shops.
According to the Sunday newspaper, the Confederation is banking on a four-stage implementation plan. It includes: calls for savings, consumption restrictions, quotas and network cuts. If Switzerland were to implement these rationing measures, electricity consumers would only receive a “percentage” of the normal amount consumed. Businesses and supermarkets would only have access to about 80% of their normal consumption, according to the SonntagsZeitung.
With this in mind, Migros is preparing its management plan and therefore the possibility of closures. “We do not want to comment on concrete measures. We are in contact with the authorities,” said Marcel Schlatter, a spokesman for the company, to the German-language weekly. According to him, a shortage will nevertheless force Migros to restrict its activities and “concentrate on the essentials”. At Coop, caution is also the order of the day. “The fulfilment of our supply mission is Coop’s top priority,” said spokesperson Rebecca Veiga. “We are in principle dealing with the current situation and developing corresponding contingency plans.”
France focuses on “energy sobriety”
And such plans are also flourishing abroad. The French retail sector, from E.Leclerc to Picard, Carrefour and Casino, has agreed on an “energy sobriety” plan to be implemented in the autumn, according to AFP. “Faced with the risk of electricity supply shortages announced by the government for this winter”, the French federation, Perifem, which brings together all the players in the retail sector to act on energy and environmental issues, has defined “common and concrete measures” to reduce energy consumption in shops, starting on 15 October.
It is planned to switch off illuminated signs “as soon as the shop closes” – as opposed to generally one hour after closing at present – and to “systematically reduce light intensity”, by reducing the lighting of the sales area by half before the public arrives and by 30% during “critical consumption periods”. Other measures are also planned, such as “cutting off air renewal at night, shifting the production of ice” and emergency measures such as lowering the temperature of sales outlets to 17 degrees this autumn and winter, if requested by a regulatory authority.
While “the electricity bill represented 30%” of the net result of the brands “before the recent surges in energy costs”, it is “essential to reduce the energy bill and to mobilise together to avoid too great a repercussion on prices for consumers”, the federation recognises.
The Media is in desperate need of the next big fear mongering story.
I thought the huge majority of electricity in Switzerland was nuclear/hydro? What will be causing these shortages?
They are not considering anything, all they did was make emergency plans like they do for various other probable and improbable scenarios. Do they really think Migros, a multi-million corporation is just going to wait for something to happen and then decide how to react?