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View of Bern rooftops, January 2026. After record summer heat in Europe, attention is turning to winter. There are concerns about higher energy prices and the impact of the ongoing US-Iran war. <\/p>\n
Keystone \/ Christian Beutler <\/p>\n
Six months into the US-Iran war, Switzerland has avoided fuel shortages but faces sharply higher energy prices and growing concerns over winter gas supplies amid low EU storage levels.\n<\/p>\n
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August 26, 2026 – 11:15\n<\/p>\n
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\n I am a climate and science\/technology reporter. I am interested in the effects of climate change on everyday life and scientific solutions.
\nBorn in London, I am a dual citizen of Switzerland and the UK. After studying modern languages and translation, I trained as a journalist and joined swissinfo.ch in 2006. My working languages are English, German, French and Spanish. <\/p>\n
While the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to disrupt global energy markets, Swiss fuel imports remain secure. Attention is now shifting from supply availability to rising prices and the risk of a tighter European gas market this winter.<\/p>\n Swiss fuel supplies remain secure<\/p>\n Avenergy, the Swiss fuel importers\u2019 association, says the war has not disrupted Swiss fuel supplies.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has not been any kind of scarcity in the past six months due to the Iran war. Supply has always been and continues to be guaranteed,\u201d Avenergy spokesperson Ueli Bamert told Swissinfo.<\/p>\n Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz carried roughly a fifth of global oil and LNG (liquefied natural gas) trade. Switzerland imports about 30% of its oil in crude form, mainly from the United States, Nigeria and North Africa, while most refined products, including petrol and diesel, come from EU countries.<\/p>\n Bamert said Switzerland\u2019s limited reliance on Gulf crude had helped insulate supplies from the conflict.<\/p>\n As a safeguard against shortages, the Swiss government can also draw on\u00a0mandatory stockpilesExternal link<\/a> managed by the private sector\u00a0under federal supervision. Strategic reserves can cover around four-and-a-half months of petrol, diesel and heating oil demand, and three months of kerosene consumption. These reserves were not released over the past six months, said Bamert.<\/p>\n Consumers face higher oil and fuel prices<\/p>\n Although oil markets have adjusted to the loss of Middle Eastern supplies, consumers are still paying more. Brent crude remains about 25% above its pre-war level at around $90 (CHF72) a barrel, while European diesel prices have surged by more than 70% since the conflict began.<\/p>\n In Switzerland, dieselExternal link<\/a>\u00a0averaged CHF2.27 ($2.82) per litre in late August, up 21% since late February, while unleaded petrol rose 17% to CHF2.02.<\/p>\n Road freight costs are already 15% higher than a year ago and are expected to remain elevated until the end of the year, according to the Geneva-based International Road Transport Union (IRU).<\/p>\n Heating oilExternal link<\/a>, used in about 35% of Swiss buildingsExternal link<\/a>, has also become more expensive. Prices rose from around CHF92 to CHF156 per 100 litres in April before easing and then climbing again to about CHF140 in late August.<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Energy transition\n <\/p>\n Switzerland\u2019s fossil fuel dependence explained <\/p>\n This series explains why Switzerland remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels despite its climate goals. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Switzerland\u2019s fossil fuel dependence explained Summer drought has added to the pressure. Low water levels on the River Rhine have disrupted deliveries of petroleum products from North Sea ports to Basel in northern Switzerland, pushing up transport costs and, in turn, fuel and heating oil prices.<\/p>\n Swiss residents earn high incomes by European standards but spend comparatively little of their income on utilities.<\/a><\/p>\n For Alexander Rathke, head of economic forecasts at the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, the impact of the US-Iran war on Swiss consumers has been \u201cvisible but limited\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall, Swiss households have weathered the US-Iran war relatively well so far. Inflation has remained low, allowing for an increase in real wages this year. Consumer sentiment remains cautious but has recovered significantly since the start of the war,\u201d he told Swissinfo.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s gas market under pressure<\/p>\n Gas accounts for around 12% of Switzerland\u2019s energy consumption and heats\u00a0one in six homesExternal link<\/a>. Prices have risen sharply since the outbreak of hostilities.<\/p>\n Dutch TTF futures, the benchmark for European and Swiss gas prices, stood at \u20ac64 (CHF60) per megawatt-hour on August 26, up more than 130% since the start of the year.<\/p>\n Although gas prices remain far below the record levels seen during the 2022 energy crisis, Europe enters winter with unusually low storage inventories. Strong summer electricity demand, drought-related disruptions to hydropower and nuclear facilities, and supply outages have tightened the market. The average EU gas storage level stood at 62% in late August, well below typical seasonal levels.<\/p>\n A cold winter could trigger further price rises and push up household energy bills.<\/p>\n Ben McWilliams, an energy analyst from the thinktank Bruegel, sees no reason for \u201cexcessive panic\u201d.<\/p>\n He told Euractiv that shortages would require a \u201cworst-case winter with prolonged cold temperatures, further unplanned global LNG market outages, and weak electricity supply\u201d from renewable and nuclear sources.<\/p>\n Still, Switzerland\u2019s dependence on European gas markets leaves it vulnerable if conditions deteriorate, and especially if there is a colder-than-normal winter.<\/p>\n Swiss authorities prepare for possible gas shortage<\/p>\n The Alpine nation relies on gas imports via neighbouring countries and on storage capacity booked abroad. Most of Europe\u2019s pipeline gas imports now come from Norway and Algeria, while LNG is sourced largely from the United States.<\/p>\n In its latest assessmentExternal link<\/a> of energy security on August 19, the government warned that securing supplies for the coming winter was \u201cproving challenging\u201d. Together with the gas industry, it has established a taskforce to monitor the situation.<\/p>\n Since 2022, Swiss gas suppliers have been legally required to secure storage capacity in European facilities equivalent to 15% of the country\u2019s annual demand.<\/p>\n Janos Kick, a spokesperson for the Association of the Swiss Gas Industry, said the supply situation is stable but that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has increased uncertainty in global energy markets.<\/p>\n \u201cGas consumption in winter typically exceeds the amount available in the short term. This is why gas storage facilities are so important, alongside gas imports. The colder the winter, the more important they become,\u201d he told Swissinfo.<\/p>\n \u201cSwitzerland remains dependent on gas imports and must therefore be prepared for disruptions in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
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