Storms in Switzerland: Six hydropower plants shut down

After heavy rainfall and flooding in Switzerland, hydroelectric power plants at reservoirs have been damaged. Six power plants operated by Axpo were shut down in a controlled manner over the past few days, some were damaged and need to be repaired.

On Friday, a heavy thunderstorm hit the Misoxtal valley in the canton of Graubünden. Rivers burst their banks, roads were flooded, the A13 was washed out to a depth of 200 meters and several residents had to be evacuated from their homes. Houses were caught in a landslide and several people are missing. In the canton of Valais, flooding and landslides also occurred on Friday following storms.

"The power plants OIM (Officine Idroelettriche di Mesolcina SA), Calancasca SA and ELIN (Elettricità Industriale SA) are affected by the flood situation," Axpo announced. The OIM power plants had suffered minor damage, while the ELIN power plants had been more seriously damaged and would have to be repaired.

High proportion of hydropower

The group of companies also operates the Idro Arvigo AG small power plant and Tecnicama AG's own small power plant on behalf of BKW and the municipality of Calanca. "All power plants were taken out of operation in a timely and controlled manner in the last few days," the statement continued.

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, Switzerland generates 57.6 percent of its electricity from hydropower. This puts it in fourth place in Europe behind Norway, Austria and Iceland. In Graubünden and Valais alone, almost half of Switzerland's electricity is produced from hydropower at 18.3 TWh per year, with Graubünden alone producing almost 8 TWh per year. The Misox and Calanc power plants produce around 580 GWh of electricity per year.

Two weeks ago, the Swiss voted in favor of making it easier to expand renewable energies such as hydropower. At the same time, efforts are being made to lift the ban on building new nuclear power plants.

(anw)