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Valais Councilor of State Roberto Schmidt, as chief energy director, is in the middle of an energy policy storm.
Ruedi StuderBundeshaus Editor
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine not only heralded a turning point in security policy. In view of the looming gas and electricity shortages, he has also changed energy policy. In the middle of the energy policy storm: the Valais center state councilor and top energy director Roberto Schmidt (60). The president of the cantonal energy directors’ conference once initiated the nuclear phase-out as a member of the National Council. He is not moving away from this today either, as he makes clear in the Blick interview.
Blick: Mr. Schmidt, you are considered the “father of the nuclear phase-out”. Do you now regret your move?
Robert Schmidt: no The current shortage of electricity is not due to the gradual phase-out of nuclear energy, but to our dependence on foreign fossil fuels.
Citizens are already thinking about subsidies for the four existing nuclear power plants in order to extend their lifespan.
The right way is to provide subsidies for the faster implementation of the energy transition. A renewable energy supply without nuclear power, as decided by the Swiss voters in 2017, makes sense and is possible in the long term. Nevertheless, I was never personally opposed to the fact that the nuclear power plants that are still active today continue to be operated as long as they meet the legal safety requirements.
Are new nuclear power stations also an option?
No, because new nuclear power plants will not solve the problems of the energy crisis in the short term, nor are they a sensible option in the medium and long term. New nuclear power plants are not economically attractive and waste disposal remains a problem and an economic risk. Even if one should not completely close one’s mind to new technologies in the field of nuclear energy, the whole discussion about new nuclear power plants is currently a mere sham debate that ultimately does not bring anything.
Now, with Albert Rösti, a proven nuclear supporter is taking over the energy department. Will sparks fly between the chief energy director and “Atom-Rösti” in the future?
no way! Albert Rösti and I have known each other for years and have always worked well together. I am convinced that he respects the democratic decision of the Swiss electorate and could even push ahead with the expansion of the renewable energy supply more quickly because he has a clear opinion when it comes to weighing up the interests of energy production and landscape protection.
The first thing to do is to prevent a power shortage. In an emergency, the Federal Council wants to prescribe down to the smallest detail when and how electricity should be saved. Do you like this nanny state?
I call it micromanagement. Nobody likes it when the state interferes in private life. Even when there is a power shortage, you cannot regulate everything down to the last detail, let alone control it. In my opinion, it would be important to adopt only a few, clearly understandable regulations with the greatest impact in an emergency. But it was still important that the Federal Council showed how and where you can save electricity in the event of a shortage. Each and every one of us can make a contribution and even save on energy costs.
Then you take a rather critical view of the detailed regulations.
The first drafts of the ordinances were hardly usable and would have caused great economic damage to individual sectors. We can live with the new management measures. I think it’s good that specific measures are provided for each of the various escalation steps – austerity appeals, bans, quotas, grid shutdowns.
But?
However, it is still largely unclear on the basis of which criteria which measures are triggered. In any case, the economy and the population need a certain amount of lead time in order to be able to prepare for the next level of escalation.
Which do you consider to be the most nonsensical specification?
Monitoring compliance with regulations in the private sector by the cantons. This is not even possible due to the human resources. It also makes no sense to try to criminalize non-compliance with the regulations. This creates unnecessary work for the already overburdened law enforcement agencies. Should the Federal Council stick to sanctions, it should limit itself to administrative fines.
The energy directors’ conference assessed certain measures as incomprehensible. What specifically?
Certain measures seem to me to be disproportionate and difficult to communicate. For example, it is difficult to understand that wellness facilities and saunas can continue to be operated even in the last escalation step, while private individuals are supposed to reduce their room temperature to 18 degrees and large consumers have to set quotas for their consumption. In addition, the gas regulations stipulate a room temperature of 20 degrees. So those who heat with gas should be allowed to heat more than those who heat with a heat pump or with electricity. Nobody understands that.
Roberto Schmidt – Chief Energy Director
He is considered the “father of the nuclear phase-out”: After the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Mitte-Man Roberto Schmidt (60) submitted the decisive motion as a member of the National Council in 2011, which heralded the Swiss nuclear phase-out. From 2007 to 2011 and from 2015 to 2017 he sat in the grand chamber before being elected to the Valais State Council. There he heads the Department of Finance and Energy. He also chairs the conference of cantonal energy directors. Schmidt is married and has one adult daughter.
He is considered the “father of the nuclear phase-out”: After the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Mitte-Man Roberto Schmidt (60) submitted the decisive motion as a member of the National Council in 2011, which heralded the Swiss nuclear phase-out. From 2007 to 2011 and from 2015 to 2017 he sat in the grand chamber before being elected to the Valais State Council. There he heads the Department of Finance and Energy. He also chairs the conference of cantonal energy directors. Schmidt is married and has one adult daughter.
The energy directors are also fighting against restrictions on electromobility. It makes sense if you leave the e-car at home for a while.
The number of electric vehicles is too small for this measure to have the desired effect. It certainly makes sense to voluntarily leave cars where they are whenever possible. At the highest escalation level, the private use of cars could also be restricted in principle. But it cannot be the case that people are made aware of sustainable mobility, the purchase of electric cars and the installation of charging infrastructure are subsidized and then the use of electric cars is suddenly banned. That would not be a credible signal to the population.
There is also a threat of 100 km/h on the Autobahn. What do you make of it?
As far as I know, neither the Energy Directors’ Conference nor the cantons have commented on this. Personally, I could definitely get used to a temporary speed limit in the event of a crisis. This would reduce fuel consumption, which would be a largely painless contribution from motorized transport. This means that more fuel would remain available for emergency generators, and electricity would be saved at the filling stations.
The federal and cantonal energy saving campaign has been running since September. Have you sent fewer e-mails since then, as suggested by the canton of Valais?
Unfortunately no, but at least I switched off my computer more often in between.
Where did you start personally?
We have also lowered the room temperature at home to 20 or even 18 degrees in certain rooms and switched off individual lamps entirely. The stand-by mode has been switched off for electrical appliances, and we are also following some simple and effective saving tips when cooking.
Where do you find it most difficult to save energy?
If I had to go without hot water in the shower. But hopefully it will never come to that.
You have ordered your officials to heat less and climb more stairs. Do your employees have to freeze in the offices?
Nobody should freeze, but you can definitely put on a sweater once in a while. The reduction of the room temperature in the offices to 20 degrees did not initially go quite well in the Valais canton administration because it was difficult to precisely set the temperature in the older buildings. On some floors it was suddenly too cold, which of course didn’t go down well. In the meantime, however, the problems have largely been resolved.
Do you expect even more drastic measures, such as working from home or merging offices?
I assume that no more drastic measures will be necessary in the coming months. However, if the situation should deteriorate, home office could definitely be ordered again to save energy, as we did very successfully during the Covid pandemic.
Are you worried about the energy year 2023?
Thanks to the mild autumn, the well-stocked water and gas reservoirs and the savings efforts of the economy and the population, the situation has now defused somewhat, so that the lights will hardly go out this winter. The winter of 2023/2024, on the other hand, worries me.
In what way?
Among other things, because it will be more difficult for our European neighbors to refill their gas storage tanks next year. That’s why we should definitely use the next few months to optimize the management concept. In contrast to Covid-19, the energy crisis would be a predictable crisis!
What optimizations do you suggest?
Solutions should be found at an early stage for vulnerable people who live in private households and are dependent on the operation of life-sustaining devices. Voluntary quotas, which are not planned today, would also be useful. In the case of large industrial consumers in particular, great potential can be exploited by switching loads on and off in a targeted and plannable manner in return for compensation.
Finally: How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve in an energy-saving way?
I’ve never wasted a lot of energy on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s as we mostly stay at home and celebrate with family or friends. And a lot of candlelight is more romantic anyway.
Parmelin presents plans: “In the event of a shortage, room temperature could be limited to 20 degrees”(00:29)