Switzerland is reportedly planning to ban electric vehicles in the country. According to a report in The Telegraph, officials in the country have drafted a proposal that would restrict power usage to prevent blackouts and power cuts.

Switzerland is heavily dependent on hydropower to meet its energy requirements; about 60 percent of the country's power comes from hydropower.

However, production slows down during the winter months. The country also imports electricity from neighbouring France and Germany, both of which are now facing an energy crisis like the rest of Europe due to the Ukraine war.

The Swiss Federal Electricity Commission, Elcom has already said in June this year that the power supply for the winter will remain uncertain due to the expected lower availability of French nuclear power generation. The situation with Germany is also the same.

Due to lower energy production this year due to various global issues, these countries will barely be able to fend for themselves. Hence, exporting energy to Switzerland might be out of the question.

According to these measures, the country might ban EV charging to reduce power usage in the cities. Only for “absolutely necessary journeys” will the EVs be allowed to charge.

We hope that this will be a one-time issue because of the natural gas supply disruption due to the war. Nevertheless, this signifies how critical global trade is and how a geo-political issue in one part of the world could affect other countries on different sides of the globe.

Finally, this is also ironic as the world is switching to EVs to cut down dependence on fossil fuels and yet it is the EV owners who might suffer the brunt of this situation. Do share your thoughts on the matter.