Federal Government plans to involve energy suppliers in drone defence
Keystone-SDA
The Swiss government is planning to introduce new legal obligations for operators of critical energy infrastructure to protect against sabotage and drone attacks. As the armed forces cannot secure all sites, companies are to be allowed to implement their own defence measures in future.
At present, there are no further legal provisions governing the physical protection of energy infrastructure, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) explained on Monday in response to an enquiry from the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA. The SFOE is therefore currently drawing up a legal framework to oblige the sector to implement protective measures against physical and electromagnetic threats. The government classifies acts of sabotage, drones, rocket-propelled grenades and arson as the greatest risks to nuclear power stations and dams. Newspaper Blick was the first to report on this.
According to its own statements, the SFOE is proposing this to close gaps in the legal framework for the protection of critical infrastructure in the energy sector. However, this is not about granting companies additional powers. The monopoly on the use of force lies with the relevant state authorities.
Operators are permitted to reinforce buildings, install sensors and protective nets, or keep spare parts on hand. However, companies do not have the right to shoot down suspicious flying objects or detain suspects. If staff spot a drone, their only option at present is to call the police. By the time the police arrive on the scene, the drone has usually disappeared.
Parliamentarians have therefore called for the laws to be amended. In an emergency, electricity suppliers should be permitted to activate interception drones or jammers.
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Swiss drone defence: ‘We’re flying partly blind’
Responsibility for protection lies with the operators
The defence ministry has, in previous statements, rejected expectations that the army would protect all power facilities from aerial threats. The military is expected in future to be able to secure an area such as the Mittelland, as well as individual sites, against aerial attacks for weeks at a time.
However, the government wrote in May 2026 in its defence guidelines that “simultaneously protecting all electricity supply sites to the same high standard of protection will not be possible with the resources and other tasks of the Swiss Armed Forces”.
The primary responsibility for protection therefore lies with the operators, it said. The question of jurisdiction in the event of incidents below the threshold of war remains unresolved; the House of Representatives’ Security Committee has called for a national reporting centre for drone sightings.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
