In its ruling dated 4 March 2010, ElCom defined the tariffs for the electricity transmission grid. This affects Swissgrid and 62 participants in the scheme, including Alpiq Ltd. and Alpiq Suisse SA. Alpiq takes the view that there is no legal basis for the charges imposed on power plants with a capacity of more than 50 Megawatts. For reasons related to the financial impact and the competitive disadvantage arising from the ruling, several Alpiq Group companies lodged appeals with the Federal Administrative Court on 22 April 2010.
Alpiq is of the opinion that the cost of ancillary services, as provided for by the Electricity Supply Act, must be passed on in full to end consumers and not, as ElCom has ruled, be partly borne by large power stations. For Alpiq, the resultant additional costs would be in the double-digit millions range.
In 2009 Alpiq submitted an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court concerning grid tariffs. The decision is still pending.