Switzerland electricity and balancing markets

Switzerland. Status: operational; Swissgrid's 2025-04-01 factsheet reports TERRE participation and no Swiss connection to MARI or PICASSO on that date.

Wholesale design: Competitive wholesale trading through bilateral and exchange markets, explicit cross-border capacity allocation on most borders, and Swissgrid market-based tenders for balancing capacity and energy.

Market type
National market
Operators
Swissgrid · EPEX SPOT
Dispatch model
Market schedules and balance groups, followed by Swissgrid balancing and congestion-management actions.
Pricing granularity
Swiss bidding zone and product-specific balancing tenders
Settlement interval
15 minutes
Nominal frequency
50 Hz
Where energy trades

Where does energy trade in Switzerland electricity and balancing markets?

Energy in Switzerland electricity and balancing markets trades in 6 layers: forward, day-ahead, intraday, balancing capacity, balancing energy and cross-border capacity.

What a battery can sell

What ancillary services can a battery sell in Switzerland electricity and balancing markets?

Switzerland electricity and balancing markets has 6 ancillary-service products, across 6 families — frequency containment, automatic frequency restoration, manual frequency restoration, reactive power & voltage, black start & restoration and other services: Energy for compensation of active-power losses, Secondary control / automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve, Black-start and island-operation capability, Primary control / Frequency Containment Reserve, Tertiary control / manual Frequency Restoration Reserve, Voltage support. Response timing, direction and eligibility for each are in the cards below, as the official sources state them.

Facts below are stated as the official sources state them. A missing line means the source does not state that value — never that the value is zero.

Frequency containment

  • Primary control / Frequency Containment Reserve PCP / FCR

    operational and market-procured

    Stabilize Continental Europe frequency immediately after a disturbance before Swiss secondary control replaces it.

    Direction
    symmetric
    Full activation
    30 s
    Trigger / range
    continuous frequency response; the official overview illustrates ±200 mHz around 50 Hz
    Typical procurement
    70 MW (official 2020 overview)
    Pricing
    published Swissgrid tender results

Automatic frequency restoration

  • Secondary control / automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve SCP / aFRR

    operational; Swiss capacity and energy markets remain nationally procured

    Automatically restore Swiss control-area balance and scheduled exchanges and replace primary control.

    Direction
    upward and downward
    Full activation
    5 min
    Trigger / range
    control-area imbalance and frequency-restoration need rather than a single threshold
    Typical procurement
    varies by tender period
    Pricing
    published tender results and activated-energy settlement

Manual frequency restoration

  • Tertiary control / manual Frequency Restoration Reserve TCP / mFRR

    operational domestically; Swissgrid's 2025-04-01 factsheet reports that Switzerland was not connected to MARI on that date

    Address larger or longer-lasting Swiss imbalances and release secondary control.

    Direction
    upward and downward
    Full activation
    750 s
    Trigger / range
    persistent control-area imbalance or reserve replacement need
    Typical procurement
    varies by tender period
    Pricing
    published tender and activated-energy results

Reactive power & voltage

  • Voltage support

    operational; mandatory or contractually remunerated depending on provider category

    Maintain reference voltages at transmission-grid feed-in and withdrawal points through controlled reactive-power exchange.

    Direction
    reactive injection and absorption
    Stated response
    equipment and contract specific
    Trigger / range
    deviation from Swissgrid reference voltage
    Typical procurement
    network need
    Pricing
    fixed tariff and specified remuneration; not a uniform reserve auction

Black start & restoration

  • Black-start and island-operation capability

    operational; the 2020 Swissgrid overview described four build-up cells

    Initiate independent grid restoration and maintain island operation after a major outage.

    Stated response
    restoration-concept and plant specific
    Trigger / range
    major outage and restoration condition
    Typical procurement
    4 build-up cells (2020 official overview)
    Pricing
    contract terms

Other services

  • Energy for compensation of active-power losses

    operational and market-procured

    Procure energy needed to replace physical losses on the Swiss extra-high-voltage transmission grid.

    Direction
    energy purchase
    Stated response
    not applicable as an activated reserve
    Trigger / range
    forecast transmission losses
    Typical procurement
    60–200 MW (2020 official overview)
    Pricing
    market tender
Getting paid to exist

Does Switzerland electricity and balancing markets have a capacity mechanism?

No central capacity market. Switzerland electricity and balancing markets has 1 capacity/adequacy arrangement — Swiss hydropower winter reserve — and it works differently. Responsibility sits with Swissgrid and ElCom.

Swiss hydropower winter reserve

established annually under the Winter Reserve Ordinance

Swissgrid tenders storage-hydropower energy to be withheld for a defined winter period and released only when the market can no longer meet demand.

staggered competitive energy-reserve tenders approved by ElCom

Responsibility
Swissgrid and ElCom
Unit of obligation
GWh of stored energy
Auction held in 2025
No () — The tender closed in 2024 for delivery in 2025; delivery year alone does not make it a 2025 capacity auction.
Revenue routes

Merchant revenue routes

  • bilateral energy
  • exchange energy
  • balancing capacity
  • balancing energy
  • hydropower reserve
Where this comes from

Official sources

Rules

Service specification

Market explainer

Capacity-mechanism explainer

Current as of · from the Global Electricity Market Catalogue v1.2.0 (compiled to , CC BY 4.0). Facts belong to the linked official authorities; verify the current rules before design or bidding decisions.

Questions

Common questions about Switzerland electricity and balancing markets

Who operates Switzerland electricity and balancing markets?
Switzerland electricity and balancing markets covers Switzerland and is operated by Swissgrid and EPEX SPOT.
Was a qualifying capacity event held in Switzerland electricity and balancing markets in 2025?
No. Swiss hydropower winter reserve: no qualifying 2025 event is recorded. The tender closed in 2024 for delivery in 2025; delivery year alone does not make it a 2025 capacity auction.
How is energy traded, priced and settled in Switzerland electricity and balancing markets?
Switzerland electricity and balancing markets: Competitive wholesale trading through bilateral and exchange markets, explicit cross-border capacity allocation on most borders, and Swissgrid market-based tenders for balancing capacity and energy. dispatch — Market schedules and balance groups, followed by Swissgrid balancing and congestion-management actions; pricing granularity — Swiss bidding zone and product-specific balancing tenders; settlement interval — 15 minutes.
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The markets index holds the full set. For what the grid demands of a battery here, see the grid-code ride-through atlas.

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