Legislative changes proposed to remove Swiss new reactor ban

A new Swiss energy policy was sought in response to the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. Two months later, both the Swiss parliament and government decided to exit nuclear power production. The Energy Strategy 2050 initiative drawn up by the Federal Council came into force in 2018 and calls for a gradual withdrawal from nuclear energy. It also foresees expanded use of renewables and hydro power but anticipates increased reliance on fossil fuels and electricity imports as an interim measure.

Switzerland currently has four nuclear reactors generating about one-third of its electricity. They all have an unlimited operating licence and can be operated as long as they are safe.

In March 2024, the federal popular initiative Electricity For Everyone At All Times (Stop Blackouts) was passed. The federal constitution now stipulates that the electricity supply must be guaranteed at all times and that the federal government should determine the necessary responsibilities for this. Furthermore, electricity production should be environmentally and climate-friendly and all climate-friendly types of electricity generation should be permitted. Acceptance of the initiative would mean a new division of tasks between the federal government and the cantons and the lifting of the ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants.

The Federal Council has now adopted the text on an indirect counter-proposal to the Stop the Blackout initiative. It said it rejects the initiative, but intends to use the counter-proposal to amend the Nuclear Energy Act so that new nuclear power plants can once again be licensed in Switzerland.

The Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication (DETEC) said the Stop the Blackout initiative "aims to introduce a provision into the Federal Constitution requiring that the electricity supply be guaranteed at all times and that the Confederation allocate responsibilities for this. However, this objective would represent a fundamental departure from the current division of tasks and responsibilities for energy supply between municipalities, cantons, and the Confederation. The Federal Council rejects this initiative."

It said the initiative also requires that all forms of "climate-friendly electricity generation be permitted. It therefore implicitly calls for the ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants to be lifted. The Federal Council supports this fundamental point in order to maintain a certain degree of flexibility regarding options for energy supply in the future. However, this does not require a constitutional amendment; it is sufficient to amend the Nuclear Energy Act. Therefore, the Federal Council is proposing an indirect counter-proposal, which has been put out for consultation from December 2024 to April 2025."

DETEC said the counter-proposal will repeal two provisions prohibiting the granting of general permits for new nuclear power plants and for modifications to existing nuclear power plants. "This means that general permits may in principle be granted again for nuclear power plants in the future," it noted. However, it said: "The counter-proposal does not consist of a decision to build new nuclear power plants, since there are currently no concrete construction plans."

The Swiss Nuclear Forum welcomed the indirect counterproposal. The organisation's President Hans-Ulrich Bigler commented: "Electricity demand will increase to over 90 TWh by 2050 - just think of electrification, digitalisation, and artificial intelligence. Given climate targets and the geopolitical situation, gas-fired power plants are not a sustainable option, and the expansion of renewables is stalling. It is high time for technology-neutral planning."