Switzerland inches closer to reversing nuclear power plant ban

Swiss cantons have voted in favour of the government’s counterproposal to the “stop blackout” initiative, meaning that Switzerland could soon reverse its ban on new nuclear power plants.

Swiss Council of States passes “stop blackout” counterproposal

The Council of States, the upper house of the Swiss Parliament that represents the cantons, has voted in favour of reversing the 2018 ban on building new nuclear power plants in Switzerland. 

The chamber voted in favour of the government’s counterproposal to the popular initiative “Electricity for all at any time (Stop blackouts)” or “Jederzeit Strom für alle (Blackout stoppen)” in German. The counterproposal was passed by 26 votes, with 12 against and three abstentions, reports Watson.

The counterproposal will now go to the National Council for a vote, and if it passes there too, it could be put to Swiss voters in a referendum.

Switzerland faces power shortages by 2050

The “stop blackouts” initiative calls on the government to enshrine the guarantee of a reliable electricity supply in the Swiss constitution. According to the initiative’s website, Switzerland is “heading directly towards a power shortage. A blackout is imminent”. The country “must now urgently ensure a secure, independent and environmentally and climate-friendly electricity supply”.

A report by the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (VSE) recently warned that the country could face a gap in electricity supply by 2050 due to increasing demand and slow-progressing projects to expand electricity production, reports SRF.

Swiss gov’t wants to build more nuclear power plants

The Federal Council has rejected the "stop blackouts" initiative and launched a counterproposal which would “amend the Nuclear Energy Act [...] so that new nuclear power plants can again be authorised in Switzerland”, according to a government press release. The Council of States has voted in favour of the government’s counterproposal.

Switzerland currently has three working nuclear power plants that supply around 30 percent of the country’s electricity production, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). New nuclear power plants were prohibited from being built in 2018 following a referendum. The ban was a result of rising safety concerns following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.