Switzerland as a workplace: energy becomes an additional test of endurance
The current situation in the electricity and gas market is threatening SMEs in the machinery, metal and electrical industry (MEM). In order to curb exploding costs and avoid bans, restrictions and quotas, the employers' association Swissmechanic advocates energy-saving agreements. It is also calling for a reliable and affordable energy policy from the Federal Council and Parliament.
Like the oxygen we breathe, energy is part of the lifeblood of a manufacturing industry. Decades of price stability and security of supply in the provision of energy have been massively affected by recent developments. A recent survey by Swissmechanic shows that the sharp price increases and the looming energy shortage pose an existential threat to many companies.
Situation critical for Switzerland as a workplace
More than 160 Swissmechanic companies from all regions of Switzerland have expressed their views on the effects of the development of the main energy sources electricity and gas. Massive price increases dominate energy procurement. For a good two-fifths of SMEs, the figure is at least 50 percent. Some companies even report price increases of over 500 percent, and in certain cases electricity tariff increases of up to 1600 percent are reported.
60 percent of the companies surveyed do have long-term contracts with energy suppliers. However, many of these contracts are currently expiring or will expire at the end of the year. This will make procurement even more expensive. "The situation is critical. We cannot pass these prices on to the market," knows Jürg Zwahlen, owner of Birchmeier Sprühtechnik AG. "Swiss industrial companies already have an enormously difficult competitive position in foreign markets due to the constantly appreciating franc. Now exorbitantly rising electricity costs are added to this. Another locational advantage is dissolving."
Shutdowns threaten existence
Another threat is likely to arise from an energy shortage. The interruption of the energy supply for a period of four hours a day over a longer period would endanger the existence of their company, confirm more than two thirds of the Swissmechanic companies surveyed. This would force them to withdraw from the market.
For Swissmechanic, securing electricity and gas supplies in the short term has top priority. "Bans, restrictions and quotas, such as those currently being considered and planned by politicians, must not be implemented, or only in extreme emergencies and with the involvement of the economy/companies, and then only for a limited period of time," emphasizes association director Jürg Marti. He also points out the danger of a creeping expansion of the state apparatus in the wake of reporting obligations, control and sanctioning measures.
Demand: Adjust overpriced grid usage
To defuse the supply situation, Swissmechanic expects voluntary savings efforts from companies and private households alike. If these are not sufficient, the association supports the proposal of the Swiss Trade Association, according to which value chains and industries enter into energy-saving agreements with the economic national supply, with plans that it has developed itself.
Furthermore, Swissmechanic sees grid costs and levies to the communities as a lever against rising electricity prices and demands that the Federal Council adjust the overpriced grid usage.
A reliable and affordable energy supply has been the basis for Switzerland as a manufacturing location for well over a hundred years. Swissmechanic demands a reliable energy policy from the Federal Council and Parliament that creates solid electricity production capacities in the short, medium and long term.
Source: Swissmechanic
