Skip to main content

Switzerland became a net power importer in 2016

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, electricity consumption in Switzerland remained stable in 2016, at 58.2 TWh. Growth factors, such as economic growth (+1.3% in 2016), demography (+1.1% in 2016) and weather (+6.7% in heating degree-days) were offset by efficiency gains.



In 2016, electricity generation fell by 6.6%, from 66 TWh to 61.6 TWh, due to an 8% decrease in hydropower generation to 36 TWh (-14% for pumped storage and -0.1% for run-of-river plants) and to an 8.4% drop in nuclear production to 20 TWh. This was partly offset by a 15.5% increase in conventional thermal and other power generation to 5.1 TWh. Hydropower still covered 59% of the Swiss power mix in 2016, followed by nuclear with 33% and other sources with 8%.



This decline in domestic power generation led to a 16% fall in power exports, from 44 TWh to 37 TWh; despite the 6% contraction in imports to 38 TWh, Switzerland became a net importer in 2016.