Grimsel hydropower deal gives smaller suppliers six percent of output

A deal has been reached over the future ownership of the Grimsel hydropower plants, according to SRF. The four existing major energy companies will remain in control, while smaller Bern-based suppliers will receive electricity but no shares.

The reservoirs and pumped-storage plants in the Grimsel region are among Switzerland’s most powerful hydropower facilities. They are operated by Kraftwerke Oberhasli, which produces enough electricity each year for several hundred thousand households.

The company is currently owned by Bern-based energy group BKW and the municipal utilities of Basel, Bern and Zurich: IWB, EWB and EWZ. Under the agreement, BKW will increase its stake to 60 percent. The two Bern-based suppliers will receive larger shares, while the out-of-canton utilities EWZ and IWB will hold smaller stakes.

The arrangement follows an agreement reached by the four energy companies in March. It had faced opposition from around 30 smaller Bern energy suppliers, which had demanded a stake in Kraftwerke Oberhasli as part of the concession renewal.

The latest agreement does not provide those suppliers with shares. They will, however, receive rights to six percent of the electricity produced by Kraftwerke Oberhasli. The suppliers will have both the right and the obligation to take that electricity and will pay a one-off amount in the low tens of millions of Swiss francs.

The agreement still requires several political approvals. Bern’s cantonal parliament is expected to debate the proposal during its winter session. If it approves the plan, votes will also be held in the cities of Basel, Bern and Zurich.

The existing concession, which grants exclusive use of the water in the Grimsel region for electricity production, runs until the end of 2041. The canton of Bern could then reassign the concession or take over electricity production itself, a process known as Heimfall. The canton said a year ago that it did not intend to do this and instead wanted to transfer the concession to the existing shareholders.

If all approvals are secured and the future ownership is settled, planning could advance on new projects in the Grimsel region. These include raising the existing Grimsel reservoir dam and building a new storage reservoir, the Triftsee in the Susten region. Together, the projects are expected to cost between 700 million and 800 million Swiss francs. The current shareholders will make a final construction decision only after ownership has been conclusively determined.