Heavy snowfall leads to power outages: BKW teams in special operation

Update April 18, 2025, 5:00 p.m.

Except for a few lines to individual buildings, all connections were restored during Good Friday. The next update will be provided once all disruptions related to the heavy snowfall have been resolved.

Information on the current supply situation is available on the website.

Update April 18, 2025, 11:00 a.m.

Restoration work resumed this morning. In total, 35 teams, each consisting of up to 4 people, are deployed. Since Thursday noon, teams from other regions of the BKW supply area have also been mobilized, nearly doubling the capacity.

The goal is to restore power to all connections during Good Friday.

The BKW thanks all affected customers for their patience.

Information on the current supply situation is available on the website.

Update April 17, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

By Thursday evening, many connections were restored. Currently, approximately 3,400 connections are still affected by an outage. Restoration work will resume on Good Friday morning, with reinforcements brought in from other BKW areas to provide support.

The BKW thanks all affected customers for their patience.

Information on the current supply situation is available on the website.

Update April 17, 2025, 2:30 p.m.

The snowfall has stopped in many places. The fire brigades in the Bernese Oberland are clearing the roads of fallen trees. This allows the BKW teams to reach areas where the power supply is interrupted. There are currently many minor outages in the lines to houses. All employees and resources are mobilized. However, it may still take several hours before all customers have power again.

BKW asks its customers to understand the interruption in the power supply. Information on the current supply situation is available on the website.
 

Update April 17, 2025, 11:30 a.m.

BKW continues to work urgently to reconnect affected customers to the power grid. However, the snowfall persists - furthermore, several damage sites are difficult or impossible to reach because roads are closed or impassable. At 11:30 a.m., around 5,500 connections were affected by the power outage. The main problem remains lines that are touching each other. Even wooden poles have occasionally buckled under the weight of the snow.

BKW asks its customers to understand the interruption in the power supply. Information on the current supply situation is available on the website.
 

Initial message April 17, 2025, 10:30 a.m.

The unusual weather situation with heavy snowfall from the southeast has caused problems with the power supply in the night leading into Thursday, particularly in Valais, but also in the Bernese Oberland. The substations in Adelboden, Frutigen, and Kandergrund temporarily went out of service. Power outages also occurred in Simmental and the Gstaad region.

The first reports came in around 2 a.m. By 4:30 a.m., a total of 16,700 connections were without power, according to the BKW central control center. Thanks to the great effort of the emergency teams, many customers were reconnected to the power grid shortly after 8 a.m. At that time, about 5,000 connections were still not supplied.

The reason for the problems: With the heavy and wet snowfall, branches came into contact with the lines, or the lines touched each other due to the snow load. This led to short circuits and power outages.

BKW asks its customers to understand the interruption in the power supply. Information on the current supply situation is available on the website.