A virtual self-consumption community (vZEV) has allowed businesses since 1 January 2025 to share solar electricity across several plots and grid connections that hang on the same service line below 1 kV, without using the distribution grid. The grid operator's smart meters handle the allocation, so no private metering is needed. A contract on the internal price is required. Economically, the vZEV replaces feed-in at the reference market price (solar electricity 2026: 3.9-10.3 Rp./kWh per quarter) with internal allocation at 15-22 Rp./kWh, a figure from our project experience.
Key Takeaways
7 min read
Key Takeaways
7 min read- The virtual ZEV (vZEV) has been possible since 1 January 2025 (Mantelerlass, Energy Act Art. 16 ff.): solar electricity can now be shared across several grid connections.
- No private cabling needed: vZEV participants do not have to be in the same building, but on the same service line below 1 kV. A vZEV may not use the public distribution grid (Art. 14 EnV).
- ZEV-internal price between 15 and 22 Rp./kWh (Ampere Dynamic experience): lower than grid electricity (20-30 Rp./kWh), higher than feed-in (3.9-10.3 Rp./kWh per quarter in 2026).
- Smart metering systems are mandatory for all participants, the technical precondition for recording consumption.
The virtual self-consumption community (vZEV) fundamentally changes the solar economics for commercial businesses. Since 1 January 2025, companies can share solar electricity across several plots and grid connections without private cabling between the buildings. What used to be possible only behind a single grid connection with private meters now applies to entire company sites whose buildings hang on the same service line. The distribution grid draws the line: anyone who wants to share electricity across it needs a LEG. Which of the three models fits which site is compared in the article ZEV, vZEV or LEG; this guide covers the vZEV in detail. The economic effect: one company’s surplus, previously fed into the grid, becomes the self-consumption of the next, at 15-22 Rp./kWh in our project experience instead of the reference market price of 3.9-10.3 Rp./kWh.
Who can join a vZEV?
Participation in a virtual ZEV is tied to three clearly defined requirements.
First, all participants must hang on the same service line, at the voltage level below 1 kV. The solar electricity must be able to reach every participant without using the distribution grid. In practice that means every property behind the same distribution cabinet. The grid operator provides information on the connection situation. An existing ZEV can be extended to the neighbouring plot this way; if it joins a vZEV, the two legally merge into one association.
Second, the grid operator’s smart metering systems must be installed at all metering points. They replace the private meters of a classic ZEV and deliver the quarter-hourly values for the computational allocation of the jointly produced electricity. In many municipalities the smart meter roll-out is still under way. The grid operator provides information on the status.
Third, the participants must conclude a contract on the internal ZEV price. The law caps this price only for tenants (Art. 16a and 16b EnV). Economically, a price below the local grid electricity tariff and above the feed-in remuneration makes sense.
For a property that has so far fed its surplus into the grid at 5.5 Rp./kWh (volume-weighted reference market price for solar electricity in the first half of 2026) and now passes that electricity to the neighbouring business via a vZEV at 18 Rp./kWh, the difference is 12.5 Rp./kWh. Multiplied over thousands of kilowatt-hours a year, that is a substantial improvement in economics.
How to set up a vZEV, step by step
Setting up a vZEV: the structured path
Identify participants and check eligibility
Establish which properties and metering points hang on the same service line. The grid operator provides information on the connection situation and checks whether smart meters are already installed.
Register the vZEV with the grid operator
The vZEV operator (typically the owner of the solar system) registers the association with the local grid operator, which coordinates the metering point registration and billing infrastructure.
Install smart meters at all metering points
Where not yet present, the grid operator installs its smart metering systems at all participants. The vZEV does not need private meters as in a classic ZEV. Costs vary by grid operator.
Set the internal ZEV price and allocation rules
The participants agree on an internal price (capped by law for tenants) and on the allocation logic: proportional to consumption, by fixed share, or by another agreed key.
Set up the billing infrastructure
An EMS or a specialised metering service provider records the quarter-hourly consumption data and produces the monthly ZEV statements for all participants. In some regions, grid operators already offer standardised vZEV billing services.
Start joint self-consumption
From commissioning, the grid operator automatically allocates the jointly produced solar electricity to the vZEV participants. Surpluses that cannot be allocated internally continue to be fed into the grid and remunerated.
What does the vZEV deliver economically?
Every kilowatt-hour allocated internally instead of being fed into the grid earns more.
Fed in, it receives the reference market price of 3.9-10.3 Rp./kWh per quarter in 2026; allocated internally, it is billed at 15-22 Rp./kWh in our project experience. With the volume-weighted reference market price for solar electricity in the first half of 2026 of 5.5 Rp./kWh, the difference per kWh is 9.5-16.5 Rp.
The BACHMANN GROUP reference project (see the reference page) shows what is possible: 2’809 kWp of solar capacity, a 96% self-consumption ratio with 24/7 production. That figure was reached without a vZEV, thanks to the ideal load profile of a production business with continuous night operation. For businesses with less favourable load profiles or several buildings, the vZEV can raise the self-consumption ratio to 70-90%, a range that EnergieSchweiz also reports for optimised systems.
The economic consequence for payback: without self-consumption optimisation, solar systems pay back in 7-9 years. With ZEV and self-consumption optimisation, the payback period typically falls to 4-6 years (Ampere Dynamic estimate from internal project data; the main driver is the higher self-consumption share). The vZEV therefore belongs in the economic calculation from the start.
For the next level of optimisation (battery storage, load shifting and energy management system), read the article Self-consumption from 30% to 90%. An overview of all storage solutions is on the page Commercial storage in Switzerland.