The national consumption of Switzerland, including the consumption of the storage pumps of the pumped storage power plants, is an important indicator with regard to the electricity supply. When it comes to consumption, it is essential to differentiate between various figures. National consumption includes the total consumption of households, commerce, agriculture, services, industry and transport (the so-called final consumption) plus transmission and distribution losses (grid losses). In addition to the national consumption, the currently reported consumption also includes the electricity consumption for the operation of the storage pumps.

The trend shows the development of the national consumption including the consumption of the storage pumps compared to the average consumption of the last 10 days. The forecast value indicates the model-based estimated country consumption including the consumption of the storage pumps in 5 days.

Country consumption including consumption of storage pumps over the last few weeks

The electricity consumption also depends on the use of the storage pumps. The further back the figures go, the more reliable they are. The data comes from distribution grid operators, who report the data to Swissgrid on a monthly basis. This data can be incomplete or incorrect and is subsequently corrected. At best, this data from Swissgrid goes back 1 month. Timely measured consumption data are not available. Models are used to determine the current national consumption, including the consumption of the storage pumps. These models do not take into account the temperature development in Switzerland, but they do not take into account changes in the behaviour of the population, for example the reaction to calls to save energy. Such behavioural changes can only be recorded using measured consumption data.

Current final consumption over the last few weeks

The final consumption is the electrical energy consumed by the economy, transport and private households. Any efforts to save electricity can be interpreted from this graph, but must be considered purely indicative due to the data situation. The graph is based primarily on the data reported to Swissgrid in the past by distribution grid operators and subsequently corrected. Due to the uncertainties in the data on final consumption, the SFOE has had a model of final consumption specially developed using the latest data science methods such as machine learning.

Expert graph comparing data sources on national consumption including consumption of storage pumps.

Analyses show that there are various differences between the most important data sources on consumption. These differences are illustrated to enable an assessment of the information that has been circulating so far. The differences have various reasons, such as different methodological approaches and delimitations. However, differences also occur due to corrections and follow-up reports from the industry. For comparison on a monthly basis, the SFOE statistics are used as a basis and yardstick.

Disclaimer Data

The data situation on consumption is not satisfactory. Different sources exist that follow different methodological approaches. Of these, the most reliable source is the SFOE statistics, which, however, only offer values on a monthly basis and are currently published with a delay of about 2 months. In addition, there is data from Swissgrid, which is based on reports from the distribution grid operators. These data are based on measured values and are subject to uncertainties, as there are always false reports, subsequent reports and corrections by the distribution grid operators, sometimes up to 6 months after publication. In order to be able to provide current values, models must be used. These take into account past data and, in particular, SFOE statistics. For a current estimate of end consumption, the SFOE has had a data science model developed using modern machine learning. This model forecasts final consumption, but is only able to partially reproduce major changes in the population's behaviour. The SFOE is currently working on better approaches with the electricity industry.