Traditionally, the Swiss electricity industry kicks off its business year with the “Stromkongress” in Berne. More than 400 participants turned the event 2018 into an excellent platform for exchange and interesting debates. Moreover, the event allowed capturing the mood of the electricity sector as a whole: This year was marked by a certain disorientation. After the popular vote in favor of the Energy Strategy 2050 there are other political topics on the agenda – namely liberalization, a new market design, or water charges – but concrete lines for compromises are barely tangible.

Another trending topic was rather neglected by the organizers: The opportunities of digitalization. This is surprising because a new survey from EY shows that the industry has well recognized the potential of digitalization. Distribution system operators see themselves developing more and more into “data platform operators”. Concrete areas of interest include process automation, network control, or big data and data analytics. The only sour note in the EY-survey concerns the liberalization of the Swiss power market: Half of the interviewed executives estimate the full liberalization to happen “after 2026 or never”. This is no good news for those believing in competition and innovation.

enersis congratulates the organizers of the Stromkongress for a successful event. We are already looking forward to next year’s event and we hope it will breathe the spirit of innovation and digitalization. The solutions exist. We are ready.

Stefan Dörig