LEG: Local Electricity Community

A LEG (Lokale Elektrizitätsgemeinschaft, local electricity community) has allowed the trading of locally produced electricity across the public grid within a neighbourhood or municipality since 1 January 2026. For community electricity, participants pay a grid usage charge reduced by 40 percent, or by 20 percent where the electricity passes through a voltage transformation. Unlike a ZEV or vZEV, participants may use different grid connection points within the same grid area; smart meters are mandatory.

The LEG is the third tier of Switzerland’s self-consumption models: a ZEV shares electricity behind one connection point, a vZEV links several plots behind the same service line computationally through the grid operator’s meters, and the LEG opens local electricity trading to entire neighbourhoods across the public grid.

For producers with large rooftop systems, this creates an additional sales channel: surplus electricity that previously went to the grid at a low feed-in tariff can be sold within the community on better terms.

Prerequisites: all participants are in the same grid area, on the same grid level and within one municipality. The community’s generation capacity is at least 5 percent of the connection capacity of all participating end consumers. Grid levels up to 36 kV are permitted, in practice levels 5 and 7. The discount applies to the grid usage tariff only. Ancillary services, the electricity reserve, the grid surcharge and levies are charged in full.

The legal basis is Art. 17d and 17e of the Electricity Supply Act (StromVG) and Art. 19e to 19h of the Electricity Supply Ordinance (StromVV), both in force since 1 January 2026. The article Virtual ZEV gives an overview of all models.