ZEV, vZEV or LEG: Which Model Fits Your Site

Key Takeaways

8 min read

Show 4 points

1. Four models, four vintagesVNB practice model since 2014, ZEV since 2018, vZEV since 1 January 2025, LEG since 1 January 2026. Each stage widens the circle of possible participants.
2. The line decidesZEV and vZEV use private lines and the service line below 1 kV. Only the LEG may trade electricity across the public grid (Art. 17d StromVG).
3. 40 percent less grid usage tariffLEG electricity receives a 40 percent discount on the grid usage tariff, 20 percent with voltage transformation. Metering charges, ancillary services and levies remain in full (Art. 19h StromVV).
4. 5 percent own generation as the thresholdA LEG needs generation capacity of at least 5 percent of the connection capacity of all participating end consumers. Storage does not count (Art. 19e StromVV).

Whether a ZEV (self-consumption community), vZEV (virtual ZEV) or LEG (local electricity community) fits is decided by the route the solar electricity takes. If it reaches all consumers via private lines and the same service line, the arrangement remains a ZEV or vZEV and pays no grid usage charge on the shared solar electricity. If it needs the public grid, the LEG is the only model that permits local trading.

Which self-consumption models have existed in Switzerland since 2014?

Four models, created in chronological order: the VNB practice model, the ZEV, the vZEV and the LEG. Three of them are in the law, one is not.

Self-consumption of solar electricity has been permitted since 1 January 2014 (Art. 7 para. 2bis of the EnG at the time). For buildings with tenants, the distribution grid operators (VNB, Verteilnetzbetreiber) developed the VNB practice model from this: the grid operator’s meters stay in place, the grid operator distributes and bills the solar electricity to the tenants and credits the plant operator for the electricity delivered. The model is industry practice and was never codified.

The ZEV followed on 1 January 2018 with Art. 17 and 18 EnG. Towards the grid operator, the association acts «jointly as a single end consumer» (Art. 18 para. 1 EnG), meters internally with private meters and bills through a billing service provider. The vZEV was added on 1 January 2025 with Art. 14 para. 3 EnV, based on Art. 16 para. 1 EnG from the Mantelerlass and the EnV revision of 20 November 2024: several plots and grid connections on the same service line below 1 kV, metered with the grid operator’s smart meters, without using the distribution grid.

The LEG completes the series since 1 January 2026 (Art. 17d and 17e StromVG, Art. 19e to 19h StromVV). For the first time, locally produced electricity may be traded across the public grid within one municipality. The basis of all these changes is the Electricity Act (Mantelerlass), which the Swiss electorate approved on 9 June 2024 with 68.7 percent in favour according to the BFE. It governs the expansion of renewable generation, security of supply, energy efficiency, the integration of renewables and the grids, and came into force in stages on 1 January 2025 and 1 January 2026.

What distinguishes ZEV, vZEV and LEG in lines, meters and billing?

The four models differ in five points: lines used, metering, contracting parties, billing and grid charge. The table sets them side by side.

VNB practice model, ZEV, vZEV and LEG compared

Feature	VNB practice model	ZEV	vZEV	LEG
In force since	2014, industry practice	1 January 2018	1 January 2025	1 January 2026
Legal basis	None, contract with the VNB	Art. 17 and 18 EnG	Art. 14 para. 3 EnV	Art. 17d and 17e StromVG, Art. 19e to 19h StromVV
Lines used	Private lines	Private lines behind one grid connection point	Private lines and service line below 1 kV, no distribution grid	Public grid up to 36 kV
Reach	Building or site	Building or site behind one grid connection point	Several plots on the same service line	Neighbourhood up to municipality, same grid area and same grid level
Meters	VNB meters	Private meters, one physical metering point to the VNB	VNB smart meters, one virtual metering point	VNB smart meter at every participant
Contractual relationship	Tenants remain end customers of the VNB, contract between plant operator and VNB	The ZEV is a single end consumer towards the VNB	The vZEV is a single end consumer towards the VNB	Participants remain end customers of the VNB, contract between LEG and VNB and with every participant
Billing of solar electricity	VNB	Billing service provider	Billing service provider	Billing service provider or VNB
Billing of grid electricity	VNB	Billing service provider	Billing service provider	VNB
Grid usage charge on the shared electricity	As per contract with the VNB	None, the grid is not used	None, the grid is not used	40 % discount, 20 % with voltage transformation
Participation rule	By agreement with the VNB	Everyone behind the same grid connection point	Everyone behind the same service line, in practice the same distribution cabinet	Same grid area, same grid level, one municipality, generation at least 5 % of the end consumers' connection capacity

Economically the same difference counts in all four models: internally billed solar electricity typically earns 15 to 22 Rp./kWh in market practice, grid feed-in 5 to 12 Rp./kWh, while grid electricity costs commercial customers 20 to 30 Rp./kWh (ranges from Ampere Dynamic project practice; the internal price must lie below the grid tariff). In the ZEV and vZEV the participants set this price in the contract; in the LEG the community sets it itself (Art. 19f para. 1 StromVV). What pays off for your load profile is shown in the guide Optimise self-consumption.

Which rules apply to a LEG since 2026?

The LEG is the only model that uses the public grid, and for that reason the most densely regulated. Six rules decide whether your site can take part.

• Members: in the same grid area, on the same Netzebene (grid level) and within one municipality (Art. 17d para. 2 and 3 StromVG). The law does not require a common grid operator; according to ElCom FAQ 9.2, grid level 5 of another operator may belong to the LEG.
• Own generation: at least 5 % of the connection capacity of all participating end consumers (Art. 19e para. 1 StromVV). According to ElCom FAQ 9.6, storage does not count towards generation capacity.
• Grid levels: grid levels up to 36 kV, no exchange across higher levels (Art. 19e para. 3 StromVV). In practice these are grid levels 5 and 7.
• Discount: 40 % on the grid usage tariff under Art. 18 para. 3 StromVV. If the electricity cannot flow from every plant to every end consumer without voltage transformation (that is, across two grid levels), it is 20 % (Art. 19h para. 1 and 3 StromVV). The law allows at most 60 % (Art. 17e para. 3 StromVG). No discount applies to the metering charge (ElCom FAQ 9.4) or to ancillary services (SDL), the electricity reserve, the grid surcharge and levies (Art. 19h para. 5 StromVV).
• Organisation: the LEG determines its external representation, distributes the internal costs, sets the prices for the self-generated electricity and governs entry and exit (Art. 19f para. 1 StromVV).
• Grid operator’s duties: disclose grid topology and connection situation within 15 working days (Art. 19g para. 3 StromVV), a smart meter at every participant (Art. 17d para. 4 StromVG), bill LEG electricity and residual electricity separately in 15-minute values (Art. 19g para. 4 StromVV, Art. 17e para. 5 StromVG).

The participants remain end customers of the grid operator for grid usage and basic supply (Art. 17e para. 4 and 6 StromVG). The contract with the grid operator runs through the LEG, the contract with each participant through the LEG rules. Anyone who narrowly misses the 5 percent threshold can reach it with an additional rooftop system, not with storage.

Which model fits which site?

Three site types, three answers. The decision path follows the connection situation, not the size of the system.

Decision path by connection situation

1

Single building with tenants

Check whether all consumers are behind the same grid connection point. Then the ZEV with private meters is the standard model; the vZEV uses the grid operator's smart meters and saves the separate metering infrastructure.

• ZEV: one physical metering point, private meters, one billing service provider
• vZEV: grid operator's meters, one virtual metering point
• VNB practice model: only if your grid operator offers it

2

Several buildings on one site

Clarify with the grid operator whether the buildings hang on the same service line below 1 kV, in practice behind the same distribution cabinet. Then the vZEV links the plots computationally, even with several landowners (Art. 17 para. 1 EnG).

• The grid operator provides information on the connection situation
• If distribution grid lies between the buildings, continue with step 3

3

Neighbourhood across the public grid

If plant and consumers are on different connections in the same grid area, on the same grid level and in one municipality, you form a LEG. Work out the 5 percent threshold and the discount of 40 or 20 percent in advance.

• Generation at least 5 % of the connection capacity of all participating end consumers
• An existing ZEV or vZEV can join as one participant

A single building without tenants needs none of the four models: self-consumption runs directly, and the surplus goes into grid feed-in or a power purchase agreement (PPA), as described on the page Energy marketing. What a site with several buildings on the same connection looks like is shown by COTRA Autotransport AG in Studen: 634 kWp on three building roofs, with the whole site’s electrical infrastructure rebuilt. At sites like these, the question of the distribution cabinet is the first one we clarify with the grid operator.

Can ZEV, vZEV and LEG be combined?

Yes, but only in one direction: from the inside out. A ZEV or vZEV can join a LEG as one participant.

This follows from Art. 18 para. 1 EnG, under which the association counts as a single end consumer towards the grid operator, and from the VSE handbook on self-consumption regulation, 2025 edition, chapter 3.6. If a ZEV joins a vZEV, the two legally merge into one ZEV; the original associations cease to exist (ElCom FAQ 2.5). A LEG inside a vZEV is not possible, because the LEG requires the public grid, which the vZEV may not use.

For tenants in a ZEV or vZEV, the exit rules under Art. 16 EnV apply. Leaving is only possible if the tenant asserts a right to grid access or the owner breaches its duties under Art. 16a and 16b EnV (Art. 16 para. 2 EnV, Art. 17 para. 3 EnG). Subsequent tenants join the existing association. That is energy law, not tenancy law. In the LEG, the community governs entry and exit itself (Art. 19f para. 1 StromVV).

How setting up a vZEV works step by step is described in the article Virtual ZEV. Ampere Dynamic delivers legal review, metering concept, billing and operation of all three models from a single source, see Self-consumption optimisation with ZEV, vZEV and LEG.