A sweeping power outage left millions of people in Spain, Portugal and parts of France without electricity on April 28th. Could such a large-scale grid failure hit Switzerland as well?
Theoretically, it is possible, according to Petr Korba, professor of Electrical Energy Systems at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
Realistically speaking, however, such a scenario is unlikely, and geography plays a big part.
“Switzerland lies at the heart of the European energy system, and what happened in Spain and Portugal typically occurs at its periphery,” he said.
‘Virtually impossible’
Other experts agree with Korba’s assessment.
“At the distribution network level alone, a nationwide power outage would be virtually impossible,” said Daniel Brand, head of Grid Operations at BKW, Switzerland’s largest electricity distributor.
This is because various protective mechanisms are in place to limit potential damage, and “intensive maintenance and modernisation” are ongoing.
A nationwide outage such as the one that happened in Spain and Portugal would indicate a problem at the level of the extra-high-voltage grid, or else a massive disruption to electricity production, Brand pointed put.
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If a power outage does happen in Switzerland nevertheless, what would be the greatest risks?
In case the power goes out in Switzerland for an extended period of time, four areas in particular would be most impacted, Brand said
Communications and water supply
“This area is particularly vulnerable because there are too few emergency generators to maintain mobile communications.”
Consequently, Internet, smart phones, and sometimes even the water supply, could be disrupted as well.
Private and public transport
“Electric trains, trams, and signalling systems would be affected, which would in turn paralyse all traffic,” Brand said.
While the national rail company, SBB, has its own power plants and its own network for traction power, allowing trains to run despite the outage, stations would remain dark.
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Food supply
Cold chains in supermarkets and warehouses would no longer work
Without emergency power solutions, perishable foods would spoil quickly.
Further, escalators, sliding doors, alarm systems, and electronic payment options would no longer function, and supermarkets would have to be closed.
Healthcare
The situation in hospitals could quickly become critical.
Although health facilities have emergency generators and are prepared for power outages, they usually ensure only the operation of vital services and only for a limited time.
