The Swiss overpaid around 400 million francs a year on their electricity bills during the period of low interest rates, according to calculations by price watcher Stefan Meierhans. “This is an absolutely colossal sum that has been taken from consumers for years,” criticizes Mr. Price in the “NZZ am Sonntag”.
For each kilometer of cable and each kilowatt hour transported, electricity network operators can indeed charge fees. According to the current calculation method, the interest rate is 4.13% for this year. This means that electricity companies can earn more than 900 million francs in interest each year. For Stefan Meierhans, the electricity industry should only be able to achieve a profit of 2.7%. “The current interest rate is simply not understandable,” he said.
The Group of Large Electricity Consumers (GGS), which brings together companies such as Migros, Coop and Swiss Steel, also severely criticizes this situation. He believes it is not fair that network operators can make such profits every year. “It almost borders on greed,” says Roger Ambort, director of the GGS.
The calculation method currently applied would allow electricity companies to systematically make profits that are too high. Worse: there would be no obligation for “these profits to be reinvested in the network”, underlines Roger Ambort.
The Federal Council, however, would have recognized the need to act. He wants to adjust the calculation method and reduce the burden on consumers. Currently under consultation, the new formula should come into force in 2026. It could lead to a reduction in the profits of electricity network operators by 127 million francs. But the project is very controversial and the electricity industry is strongly opposed to it.
