You have created a Local Energy Community, or you are preparing one, and you are looking for someone to run it day to day? Celium takes care of your LEC's settlements, billing and payment collection. This page describes precisely what the service covers, what it does not cover, and what it costs.
Delegated management is aimed at those who run an LEC without wanting to take on its day-to-day administration. In every case, each participant remains a customer of their DSO for residual electricity, and there is no position to create within the community: Celium handles the operation.
You run a municipal LEC or a project around your public buildings, and you want to delegate its operation without creating a dedicated administrative position.
Owners or tenants in your portfolio take part in an LEC, and you do not want to bring energy billing and its follow-up in house.
Your condominium produces solar energy and shares it with the neighbourhood, but the committee does not want to draw up the settlements itself.
Your buildings are equipped with solar panels and you want to get value from the surplus through an LEC, without extra administrative workload.
A clear mandate starts with a clear scope. Here is what delegated management covers, and what it does not.
Reception and verification of the metering data transmitted by the DSO: SDAT-CH (XML) or CSV files, readings at 15-minute intervals.
Calculation of the allocation of the shared electricity: internal flows measured by the DSO where available, otherwise pro-rata allocation at 15-minute intervals.
Internal prices calculated automatically from the DSO's reference tariffs, recalculated at every tariff adjustment. They are never negotiated.
Billing by period (quarterly by default, configurable) with Swiss QR-bills, payable by e-banking or at the counter.
Payment tracking: automatic bank reconciliation (camt.054) and staged email reminders in case of late payment.
Payouts to producers, accompanied by a detailed statement of the value obtained for their surplus.
Online member area for each participant: dashboard updated the day after, bills, consumption history. Available in French, English and German.
Email support for the participants and for the project owner.
Installing and maintaining the solar systems. Panels, inverters and batteries are your installer's responsibility. The Swissolar directory lists certified professionals.
Meters and metrology. Installing the smart meters, reading them and ensuring their accuracy are the DSO's responsibility. Celium consumes the measured data, it does not measure anything itself.
Individual contracts with the DSO. Each participant keeps their own contract for residual electricity. Celium does not replace it and never becomes your electricity supplier.
This scope is deliberately explicit: it is what makes the mandate verifiable. If your need falls outside this framework, tell us and we will point you in the right direction.
An LEC involves two players with clearly distinct roles. Celium never replaces the DSO: the grid, the meters and the supply contracts remain its responsibility.
| Area | Role of the DSO | Role of Celium |
|---|---|---|
| Meters and measurement | Installs the smart meters and reads consumption at 15-minute intervals. | Receives and verifies the transmitted metering data. |
| Grid | Operates the grid, delivers the electricity and applies the grid discount (40% or 20%) to the shared electricity. | Includes this discount in the calculation of the value created and of the internal prices. |
| Residual electricity | Bills each participant under their individual contract. | Plays no part in these contracts. |
| Shared electricity | Transmits the community's metering data. | Calculates the allocation, draws up the settlements and the LEC's internal QR-bills. |
| Internal payments | No role. | Collects the bills, sends the reminders, pays the producers their share. |
| Participant information | Usual bill for the residual electricity. | Trilingual member area, dashboard updated the day after, email support. |
Celium works with the standard formats of the Swiss electricity and banking sectors. No software to install, no proprietary format required.
SDAT-CH (the Swiss standard for exchanging metering data, in XML) and the CSV exports of the DSOs in French-speaking Switzerland, each with its own format.
Each participant is identified by their Swiss metering point number (33 characters, starting with CH), as it appears on the DSO's bill.
QR-bills compliant with the Swiss standard, payable by e-banking or at the counter. Automatic bank reconciliation via camt.054 files (ISO 20022).
Data hosted in Switzerland and processed in accordance with the Swiss FADP (nLPD). Your community remains the owner of its LEC's data.
The service is available in French, English and German: website, member area and notification emails. The terminology follows the usage of each language: CEL in French, LEG in German (Lokale Elektrizitätsgemeinschaft), LEC in English (Local Energy Community).
The price of delegated management is the same as for any LEC managed by Celium, with no exceptions and no surcharges.
40 ct
to the producers
of every franc of value created by the LEC
40 ct
to the consumers
of every franc of value created by the LEC
20 ct
for Celium
funding the complete operation of the LEC
No set-up fees, no fees for taking over an existing LEC, no subscription. Celium's remuneration is taken only on the value actually measured at settlement: no value created, no Celium fee. Amounts excluding VAT.
The LEC's internal prices (surplus buy-back and resale to consumers) are calculated automatically from the DSO's reference tariffs and recalculated at every tariff adjustment. They are never negotiated.
The full model and a savings simulator are available on the home page, in the Value sharing section.
From first contact to routine operation, here are the stages of a delegated management mandate. The set-up time depends mostly on the DSO (activation of the metering and transmission of the data); we give you a realistic estimate during the scoping phase.
You describe your situation: existing LEC or project, DSO involved, number of participants, production installations.
List of metering points, sharing perimeter, verification of what the DSO provides (measured internal flows or individual readings) and of the mandate's terms.
Celium registers the LEC, its participants and the DSO's tariffs. Each participant receives access to their member area.
The first DSO readings are imported and verified; the dashboards start to fill up.
At the end of the first period, each consumer receives their QR-bill and each producer their payout statement, with the details of the calculation.
Regular settlements, automatic reminders and payouts. You follow everything from your member area, with no administrative tasks.
A service is also defined by its limits. Here are three situations in which we will tell you honestly that Celium is not the right solution.
Celium works in German, but our operational base (covered DSOs, support, knowledge of the tariff structures) is in French-speaking Switzerland. For an LEG located entirely in German-speaking Switzerland, a local player will be better placed.
If sharing is limited to one building or to a group of buildings behind the same connection point, a self-consumption grouping (ZEV in German) is often simpler than an LEC: the electricity does not pass through the public grid and no LEC settlement is needed. We will tell you during the scoping phase, but managing a pure ZEV is not our service.
If your community wishes to draw up its own settlements with its own tools, you do not need a management mandate. The legal framework allows it; it is simply a different organisational choice from ours.
The community remains the holder of its procedures with the DSO (registration of the LEC, grid usage agreement). Celium prepares these procedures, follows up the exchanges and manages the reception of the metering data. The individual supply contracts for residual electricity remain between each participant and the DSO.
Celium sends staged reminders by email, then reports persistent unpaid bills to the project owner with the detailed amounts. Substantive decisions, such as a payment plan or an exit from the community, remain the LEC's responsibility; Celium provides the settlements and the history needed.
Yes. The mandate can be terminated under the conditions set during the scoping phase, typically at the end of a settlement period. Your LEC's data (participants, meter readings, settlements) is returned to you in standard formats. Since there is no subscription and no fixed fees, no minimum term is needed to amortise initial costs.
They are calculated automatically from your DSO's reference tariffs, following the 40/40/20 model, and recalculated at every tariff adjustment. They are never negotiated, neither by Celium nor by the community: this is what guarantees a fair and verifiable sharing of the value created.
Your community. Metering and billing data is hosted in Switzerland and processed in accordance with the Swiss FADP (nLPD). Celium uses it only to operate your LEC and returns it to you if the mandate ends.
No. There are no set-up fees and no takeover fees. Celium's remuneration remains 20% of the value created, measured at settlement, from the moment Celium operates the LEC.
Describe your situation: municipality, property manager, condo association or owner, existing LEC or project, DSO involved. We reply within 48h, including when the honest answer is that Celium is not the right choice for you.
Thank you! We will reply within 48h to the address provided.