Switzerland introduces voluntary gas savings target of 15% for winter

Switzerland set a voluntary gas savings target of 15% for the winter as Europe faces a potential gas shortage as a consequence of the Ukraine war, the government said on Wednesday. While gas makes up a smaller share of Swiss energy consumption compared with other European countries, three-quarters of annual consumption occurs in the winter months.

Switzerland set a voluntary gas savings target of 15% for the winter as Europe faces a potential gas shortage as a consequence of the Ukraine war, the government said on Wednesday.

While gas makes up a smaller share of Swiss energy consumption compared with other European countries, three-quarters of annual consumption occurs in the winter months. Switzerland's aim is to use 15% less gas compared with the average consumption over the last five years from October 2022 through to March 2023, according to the government. That corresponds to a target of saving around 3.6 terrawatt-hours.

The area with the greatest potential for saving energy is through heating, said the government, which said it would reduce building temperatures and turn off computers and devices when they are not immediately needed to set a good example. Switzerland would feel the direct impact of any European shortage as it would make it more difficult for the country, which must import all its gas, to secure supplies, it said.

Some Western leaders have accused Russia of using a stand-off over a turbine for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline as a pretext to cut energy supplies in revenge for sanctions imposed on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.