POWER
Swiss hydropower reserves last week – calendar week 40 – decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 82.6% of capacity as of 7 October, indicating that stocks may have reached its peak in the week prior, BFE data showed.
- Stocks increased by 1.4 points the week before.
- Reserves widened the deficit to the five-year average to 4.1 points, compared with 3.2 points the week before.
- The deficit to the long -term average – since 1997 – also widened to 3.7 points, compared with 3.4 points the week prior.
- Swiss hydropower reserves peaked between early October and early November in the past five years.
- Swiss hydropower generation from reservoirs last week was broadly stable on the week at 1.18GW. Output from pumped storage was also stable on the week at 855MW, as well as run-of-river generation at 323MW.
- Nuclear generation in Switzerland last week declined by 253MW to 2.57GW.
- Axpo’s 365MW Beznau 1 nuclear reactor is currently undergoing planned maintenance until 21 October. Works started on 28 September.
- Power demand in Switzerland last week averaged 6.38GW, down from 6.48GW the week prior.
- Precipitation last week in the hydro-intensive region of Sion last week totalled 106.9mm, well above the seasonal average of 40.2mm.
- Milder weather recently has limited snowfall in Switzerland’s hydro intensive regions. The L'Ecreuleuse measuring point saw 6cm of new snowfall in the past seven days.
- Looking ahead, forecasts for this week suggested precipitation in Sion will rise above the seasonal average to total 54.1mm, compared with the 30-year normal of 36.3mm.
The latest Swiss hydrobalance is forecast to remain positive until at least 23 October and is forecast to end this week at +2.74TWh.
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