Switzerland is considering a ban on EVs, game consoles and streaming in the event of a power shortage

The Swiss government is considering banning most uses of electricity nationwide in emergency situations. For example, there is talk of a ban on the use of electric cars and streaming services.

In the draft regulationquoted by t-online, four emergency levels are described to prevent a possible blackout, a complete collapse of the electricity grid. The two highest ‘escalation levels’ prohibit, among other things, the use of electric cars for non-essential purposes, the use of streaming services, the use of DVD and Blu-ray players, consoles and gaming computers and the mining of cryptocurrency.

At escalation levels 1 and 2, less drastic measures are taken to limit Swiss power consumption. This limits the use of equipment and systems that handle extreme temperatures; this includes, for example, ice machines, hot tubs, saunas and dryers. Heating in public areas must also be virtually switched off.

In addition the Swiss government is considering to adopt individual measures to limit power consumption in emergency situations. For example, there is talk of a maximum speed of 100 km/h on highways and the nationwide switching off of devices and lights that are not essential. In such cases, sleep mode should only be used if it can ‘prevent damage to electrical equipment’.

As far as we know, Switzerland is the first country in Europe to have drawn up such a detailed contingency plan for possible electricity shortages, for example as a result of the war in Ukraine. The Swiss government will consider the draft regulation on December 12.