Short supply: In case of an emergency, half of the population would be willing to save energy

In Switzerland as well, the looming shortage of electricity and gas is a pervasive topic and an issue likely to concern many people in the country. To determine how people in Switzerland view the energy crisis and what they’re prepared to save, in August 2022 (before the Swiss Federal Council communication on the matter) LINK initiated its own representative survey of 1,136 Swiss citizens. The results are representative for the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland and the Canton of Ticino.

Older age groups much more concerned than younger people

37% of the population is worried about the energy crisis and supply security – a figure that is still less than environmental protection/climate change (53%) and the war in Ukraine (46%). Nevertheless, just 6% of those surveyed are not particularly concerned about the energy crisis. This shows that, in spite of the significant, noticeable effects, people in Switzerland are much more sensitive regarding the topic than their close neighbors in other countries. If we take a closer look at the assessments in the different age groups, we see that in the oldest group that was surveyed (60-79 years old) 47%, or almost half, believe the energy crisis is worrying. There is slightly less concern among younger people, but it is still a worry for many of them: for example, almost a third (32%) of people aged 15 to 29 are worried about the energy crisis/short supplies. With regard to other topics that were included in the survey, only environmental protection/climate change were more concerning for this age group.

Women are more willing to save energy than men

With the high level of awareness for the topic, it is not surprising that many of the respondents are not against saving energy: Half (50%) of the Swiss population said that they would be very willing to save energy if the authorities asked them to do this. Only 5% would be rather unwilling. Women (57%) demonstrated a greater willingness to save energy than men (44%).

The participants in the study were also asked which specific measures they would (could) consider in the context of an energy crisis or which measures they have already implemented. Reduced bathing/showering time led the field: 42% of the population already do this and another 28% said that they would certainly do this. 22% could imagine doing this, while just 8% stated that they would not want to reduce their bathing or showering times. Another popular measure is avoiding standby mode by completely switching off appliances when they are not in use – 37% of the respondents already do this and 31% plan to do it. 34% of those surveyed already plan to lower the temperature of their heating systems during the approaching colder season, while 30% could imagine doing this – 27% already do it. At the end of the field is the purchase of a generator: A clear majority of 65% said that they do not want to buy a generator.

Two thirds of the population in favor of building large-scale solar systems

Large-scale measures, such as building new power plants, are also being discussed in Switzerland. In particular, people are more in favor of solar energy and hydroelectric power: Three quarters (75%) would like to see new, large-scale solar systems built and 58% are in favor of new storage reservoirs with hydroelectric plants. Less popular are new nuclear power plants (24%) and new gas/oil power plants to produce electricity (8%). It is noticeable that many more men than women are in favor of building new nuclear power plants. While 35% of men are for this, only 13% of women are in favor. Men are also more positive (67%) when it comes to building storage reservoirs with hydroelectric plants than women (48%).

An overview of the study

Method: Online survey conducted with the LINK panel

Swiss population: 1,136 people aged between 15 and 79 and resident in German-, French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland (representative of the population).

Study period: August 24-30, 2022