Reduce operations – energy crisis could hurt Swiss ski tourism

“We have several options, with the speed, the number of gondolas and the operating times,” Stoffel explained to the Swiss broadcaster SRF on Tuesday. In any case, it must be unpleasant for skiers, as Stoffel’s explanation shows: In a first step, the mountain railways want to voluntarily save five percent in electricity and, among other things, reduce comfort.

One possibility would be to offer only cold water and less heating in sanitary facilities – but not only that, as Stoffel said. “It concerns turning off advertising lighting, reducing heating, cold water in toilet buildings, night driving, gutter heating and so on. We are in the process of determining a whole range of measures that can also be implemented by mountain railways.”

So far no regulations on energy saving
Switzerland has so far planned no energy-saving regulations and does not have a contingency plan like the EU, in which countries – with few exceptions – would have to voluntarily save 15 percent on gas. When it comes to saving electricity, she hopes that an awareness campaign will initially help citizens and businesses save up to five percent. If that doesn’t work or isn’t enough, escalation levels have to come. In a next step, something that is not absolutely necessary, such as shop window lighting, should be switched off. However, the approximately 2,400 mountain railways are a central part of winter leisure activities in Switzerland, Stoffel emphasized.