Council of States committee backs open-ended hydropower premium and Swissgrid discretion
Published · Updated
What happened
The Council of States committee published its position on the electricity-agreement file, endorsing an unlimited market premium for large hydropower and seeking maximum Swiss flexibility on how EU electricity-law requirements would apply to Swissgrid.
Why it matters
The committee position changes the parliamentary baseline for two live questions: how long Switzerland supports domestic hydropower capacity and how far it aligns grid governance with EU rules in a future electricity agreement. That can shape the next drafting, chamber debate, and negotiating posture toward Brussels.
A Council of States committee press release published today said the committee, after meeting on 2026-10-26 and 2026-10-27, supported keeping the market premium for large hydropower with no time limit. In the same package, it said Switzerland should retain the widest possible discretion when implementing EU electricity-law requirements for Swissgrid under the electricity-agreement file. The committee position now feeds directly into parliamentary handling of a live energy and market-integration dossier.
Watch for
UREK-S or the Council of States secretariat publication of the committee report text or bill wording on hydropower premium duration after 2026-10-29 Federal Office of Energy communication on how the committee's Swissgrid position would be reflected in the electricity-agreement implementation package by 2026-11-01 Council of States agenda update listing chamber handling of the electricity-agreement file or related implementing legislation after 2026-10-29 Swissgrid public statement on governance or compliance implications of the committee position by 2026-11-01
Sources
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