Tenders for efficient use of electricity

The grid levy on electricity also used to fund feed-in tariffs will be used to help finance‚ selected energy efficiency measures that would‚ not pay for themselves purely through the‚ energy savings made. A series of tender calls for projects and programmes for more efficient‚ use of electricity in industry and households‚ has been launched by the Swiss Federal Office‚ of Energy since 2010, with a varying budget‚ of around Swiss francs (CHF) 10 million to‚ 20 million. Companies and organisations may apply‚ for the implementation of efficiency‚ measures within the scope of an annual‚ call for tenders. The main criterion is the‚ cost-benefit ratio (promotion funding per‚ saved amount of energy). In order to qualify‚ projects and programmes must meet‚ additional criteria, including that the tender‚ financial contribution towards a project is‚ at least CHF 20 000 and promotion funding‚ is equivalent to a maximum of 40% of the‚ investment costs. The scheme aims to fund projects for appliances‚ and process measures whose payback period‚ is greater than five years and infrastructure‚ projects with a payback period of more than‚ nine years. Support increases proportional to‚ the increase in payback time: 20% support for‚ a payback time of five years, rising to 40% for a‚ payback time of nine or more years. The scheme has two strands: one for projects‚ and one for programmes. While projects are‚ geared at putting in place the best available‚ technologies, programmes focus on information‚ barriers and behavioural change. Tenders are scrutinised by a panel of experts‚ who assess the costs and savings of the‚ scheme and select those that have the best‚ cost-benefit ratio. For each bid, they decide the‚ appropriate proportion of the total costs of the‚ project/programme. Tenders for programmes and projects for electric efficiency measures. Programmes and projects with the highest efficiency (CHF-ct. grant/kWh saved) win the bid. Actual funding is about a maximum of 45 million per year of which about 30 million CHF are spent on average.

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