The risk of an electricity shortage is high, and the consequences for the economy and society would be serious. As a large consumer, Roth would be directly affected by power quotas being imposed in the event of a shortage. The company has therefore developed a contingency plan. But there is still hope that the voluntary measures of the Swiss economy and population will be enough.

The national risk analysis ‘Disasters and Emergencies in Switzerland’, conducted by the Federal Office for Civil Protection FOCP in 2020, shows that an electricity shortage poses the biggest risk to Switzerland. An electricity shortage has the potential to cause significant damage and also has a high likelihood of occurrence.

Voluntary measures

The Swiss government’s energy-saving campaign ‘Energy is scarce, let’s not waste it.’ has been running for several months. The government has also joined forces with the private sector to establish the ‘Energy Saving Alliance’. The members of the alliance take measures to use energy more efficiently and sparingly and thereby support efforts to ensure the security of supply in Switzerland in winter. We at Roth also make a contribution to saving energy, such as by having the heating on low, installing LED bulbs and using motion sensors to turn on lights. In the medium term, we are also planning two projects that will reduce our gas and electricity consumption. One is for a heat recovery system, while the other involves installing photovoltaics on all company buildings.

Response measures

Should there be an imminent threat of an electricity shortage despite the voluntary measures taken by the Swiss economy and population, temporary measures would be imposed by the federal government. These would initially take the form of energy-saving appeals, or the first consumption restrictions and prohibitions. At the next escalation level, quotas would be imposed on end consumers that use more than 100 MWh per year. Quotas are set for one day or one month. This situation must be avoided at all costs. It affects 34,000 large consumers in Switzerland and would have serious consequences for the economy. For us, a quota would mean having to switch off some of the automatic lathes temporarily, which would reduce our production capacities. As a consequence, we may not be able to fulfil all orders in a timely manner.

Contingency plan

To minimise the impact of an electricity shortage on our customers and ourselves, we have created a contingency plan that would come into effect should a quota be imposed. By monitoring the performance and consumption data of our plant (i.e. all production machinery and infrastructure elements), we have a solid pool of intelligence available for setting priorities to improve efficiency and continue meeting customer demand in the event of energy rationing.

With our modern, highly energy-efficient production machinery and the planned photovoltaic system, we are trying to reduce our reliance on the electricity market and increase the security of supply for our customers.