In 2012, end electricity consumption in Switzerland rose by 0.6% to 59.0 billion kilowatt hours (kWh); domestic consumption (including losses occurring in transmission and distribution) was 63.4 billion kWh. Production at Switzerland's power plants rose by 8.2% to 68.0 billion kWh, or 65.6 billion kWh after deduction of electricity consumed by storage pumps. Overall this resulted in an electricity export surplus of 2.2 billion kWh compared to an import surplus of 2.6 billion kWh in 2011.

Walter Steinmann, Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Azerbaijan from 13-17 January 2013. In Abu Dhabi (UAE), he will represent Switzerland at the third session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and participate in the international World Future Energy Summit 2013 together with a delegation from Swiss cleantech and energy research companies. Subsequently, Director Steinmann will travel to Baku (Azerbaijan) to scheduled discussions with decision-makers from politics and the economy. The Federal Council has conferred the title of Secretary of State on Walter Steinmann for the duration of the trip.

Deep geological repositories for radioactive waste have economic, ecological and social impacts on a siting region. These need to be identified objectively and as early as possible so that action can be taken to prevent negative impacts and at the same time opportunities for positive developments can be exploited. It is with these objectives in mind that the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) has been carrying out an intercantonal socioeconomic and ecological study since 2011 in all potential siting regions. The first interim report on the regional economic impacts of a deep geological repository is now available.

In 2011, Switzerland's final energy consumption sank by 6.5% to 852,330 terajoules compared to 2010. The warm weather experienced in 2011 had a significant effect on Swiss energy consumption.

Switzerland is consolidating its international commitment to sustainable development. In the spirit of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, SECO and the SDC are together allocating an additional CHF 2 million to the REPIC Platform.

In 2011, end electricity consumption in Switzerland fell by 2.0% to 58.6 billion kilowatt hours (kWh); if losses incidental to transmission and distribution are taken into consideration, end consumption amounted to 63.0 billion kWh. Domestic power plants generated 5.5% less electricity than in 2010: Switzerland generated 62.9 billion kWh, or 60.4 billion kWh after deduction of electricity consumed by storage pumps. Overall this resulted in an electricity import surplus of 2.6 billion kWh (63.0 - 60.4 billion kWh).

A Swiss delegation from the fields of politics, science and industry headed by Walter Steinmann, Director of the Federal Office of Energy, will tour the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar from 14 to 18 January 2012. The Federal Council has conferred the title of Secretary of State on Walter Steinmann for the duration of the visit. In addition to conducting bilateral discussions with a number of ministers from the UAE, the delegation will attend the second session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the World Future Energy Summit 2012 in Abu Dhabi.

Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard was received today by President Ilham Alijew during an official visit to Azerbaijan. Discussions focussed on the specific implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two states in 2007 in the field of energy.

In 2010, Switzerland's overall energy consumption rose to the new record level of 911,550 terajoules, an increase of 4.4% over 2009.

The Federal Council intends to continue to safeguard Switzerland's high level of energy security although without nuclear energy in the medium term. That was the decision taken at its special meeting today. Existing nuclear power plants should be decommissioned at the end of their operational lifespan and not be replaced by new nuclear power plants.