In French-speaking Switzerland a ZEV is called an RCP, regroupement dans le cadre de la consommation propre. The legal basis and the rules are the same as in German-speaking Switzerland (Art. 17 and 18 EnG); the terms, the forms and the grid operators are not. A company with a site in Valais, Vaud, Fribourg, Geneva, Neuchâtel or Jura deals with Romande Energie, Groupe E, SIG or OIKEN and needs the French vocabulary, from the virtual RCP to the CEL.
Key Takeaways
6 min read
Key Takeaways
6 min read- One law, two languagesZEV and RCP are the same legal institution under Art. 17 and 18 EnG. What changes are the terms, the forms and the grid operator.
- Four models, four acronymsRCP for the ZEV, virtual RCP for the vZEV, CA for the grid operator's practice model, CEL for the LEG since 2026 with a 40 percent rebate on the grid usage tariff.
- The grid operator sets conditionsRomande Energie, Groupe E, SIG and OIKEN publish their own requirements, for example at least 10 percent production power relative to the offtake power at Romande Energie and SIG.
- Five sites in VS, VD and JUAmpere Dynamic has built around 1'170 kWp in French-speaking Switzerland, including 110 kWp for Bardusch AG in Sierre VS.
In French-speaking Switzerland a ZEV is called an RCP, regroupement dans le cadre de la consommation propre. The legal basis and the rules are the same as in German-speaking Switzerland; the terms, the forms and the grid operators are not. A company operating a site in Valais, Vaud, Fribourg, Geneva, Neuchâtel or Jura deals with Romande Energie, Groupe E, SIG or OIKEN and needs the French vocabulary, from the virtual RCP to the CEL.
What is a ZEV called in French?
The Energy Act knows one term per language. The Zusammenschluss zum Eigenverbrauch of the German version is, in the French version, the regroupement dans le cadre de la consommation propre.
Art. 17 of the Loi sur l’énergie (LEne) allows several landowners with end-consumer status to join together at a shared production site, provided the production power is “considérable par rapport à la puissance de raccordement du regroupement”. Art. 18 requires the community to be treated thereafter “comme un consommateur final unique”. That is word for word what Art. 17 and 18 EnG say in German. The mechanics of the models are compared in detail in ZEV, vZEV or LEG: which model fits your site.
The four models that grid operators in the Romandie offer today each carry their own acronym:
| German-speaking Switzerland | French-speaking Switzerland | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| ZEV | RCP (regroupement dans le cadre de la consommation propre) | Private meters behind one grid connection, one end consumer towards the grid operator |
| vZEV | Virtual RCP, RCPv | Since 2025: several plots on the same service line, settled through the grid operator’s smart meters |
| VNB practice model | CA (communauté d’autoconsommation) | The grid operator keeps the meters and the customer relationship and distributes the solar electricity; not a statutory term |
| LEG | CEL (communauté électrique locale) | Since 2026: trading over the public grid within one municipality, 40 percent rebate on the grid usage tariff |
Two roles appear on every form. The représentant is the person or company that alone represents the community towards the gestionnaire de réseau de distribution (GRD), reports joiners and leavers and handles internal billing. Whoever initiates such a project is referred to in municipal documents and tenders as porteur or porteuse de projet, PMO for short. It is not a legal term, but it appears in searches from the Romandie.
What is different in the Romandie compared with German-speaking Switzerland?
Not the law, but the grid operator. Four distribution grid operators cover most of French-speaking Switzerland, and each publishes its own conditions, map tools and prices.
Romande Energie (Vaud, parts of Fribourg, Valais and Geneva) offers, according to its product page, all three models: CA, RCP with a virtual variant and, since 2026, the CEL. For the RCP, Romande Energie requires production power of at least 10 percent of the offtake power, for the CEL 5 percent. For the CA, the grid operator takes over metering, invoicing and collection for a fee, by its own account CHF 2.50 per month and member plus 2 centimes per self-consumed kilowatt hour (Romande Energie, autoconsommation collective).
Groupe E (Fribourg, parts of Neuchâtel, Vaud and Bern) provides a map on which you can see, for an address, which neighbouring properties hang on the same grid node and therefore qualify for a CA or RCP. For the CEL, Groupe E grants a 40 percent rebate on grid usage if all participants hang on the same transformer, otherwise 20 percent. Registration runs through a portal and requires the 31-digit metering point number of each participant (Groupe E, partage d’électricité locale).
SIG (Geneva) lists the RCP and the virtual RCP as an offer for companies and property owners. A physical RCP costs around CHF 300 per meter for installation according to SIG; the RCPv uses the existing smart meters without meter costs. SIG also requires at least 10 percent of the connection power as production, and leaving is generally not provided for after constitution (SIG, regroupement dans le cadre de la consommation propre). OIKEN (Valais) describes the RCPv with one smart meter per site and a virtual metering point (oiken.ch/rcpv).
What all four have in common: the community gives up the basic supply of each individual participant, and the grid operator checks before constitution whether the grid topology permits the model. This check takes weeks, not days, and therefore belongs at the start of every project plan.
What has Ampere Dynamic built in the Romandie?
Around 1’170 kWp on five sites in Valais, Vaud and Jura, all in Ampere Dynamic’s project register.
The most recent site is the 110 kWp system for Bardusch AG in Sierre VS, completed in 2025, following the same client’s systems in Rheinfelden AG and Brugg AG. Added to that are 408 kWp on a furniture store in Vétroz VS (2023), 157 kWp for a facility management company in Bussigny VD, plus 302 kWp in Delémont JU and 193 kWp in Chavannes-le-Veyron VD, both for enshift AG. A feasibility study exists for a company in Domdidier FR.
The projects show where the friction arises: not at the module, but at the connection application, which is submitted in French to the grid operator in the Romandie on its own forms, and at the question of whether self-consumption can be extended to further users on the site through an RCP. Ampere Dynamic plans both from Zurich together with the local grid operator.
When does an RCP pay off at a site in the Romandie?
Under the same conditions as a ZEV: when several electricity consumers sit behind one connection at the site and the solar system covers a noticeable share of their demand.
Three questions decide. First, topology: do the consumers hang on the same grid connection (RCP), the same service line (virtual RCP) or only in the same municipality (CEL)? Groupe E’s map and enquiries to Romande Energie, SIG or OIKEN settle this before any investment. Second, the ratio of production to offtake: the 10 percent threshold of Romande Energie and SIG is met by an industrial hall with 400 kWp and 1’000 kW of connection power, not by a small roof over a large consumer. Third, billing: an RCP with tenants needs a représentant and a billing solution; a CA delegates both to the grid operator for a fee, which can be more economical with few participants.
For companies whose consumers are spread across several plots or parts of a municipality, the CEL has been the model with the widest reach since 2026, albeit with a grid charge on the traded electricity, even if reduced. The solution page ZEV, vZEV and LEG shows which constellation fits which site; the legal terms are explained in the glossary entries for ZEV, vZEV and LEG.