> Celium makes it easy to create and manage Local Energy Communities (LEC) in Switzerland: automated billing, DSO support and fully managed administration. # Create or join your Local Electricity Community. Celium covers the entire lifecycle of your LEC: matching with your neighbours, guided setup, automated billing. ## What is a Local Energy Community? Since 1 January 2026, Swiss federal law has allowed neighbours in the same municipality to share their solar electricity over the public grid, with a **20 to 40%** discount on grid usage charges. ### The principle is simple Neighbours with solar panels produce electricity that they don't consume entirely They share the surplus with their neighbours over the existing public grid, at a price calculated automatically to share the gains fairly Everyone wins the producer sells at a higher price, the consumer pays less, and the energy stays local ## The case of a typical municipality in the Canton of Vaud Compare the standard (centralised) model with the LEC model and discover the concrete savings for producers and consumers. In this example, the LEC's internal prices are not negotiated: they are **calculated automatically** from the DSO's reference tariffs, so that the gains are split equally between producers and consumers. With the average tariffs used here, the producer receives **~12 ct/kWh** for their surplus and the consumer pays **~13 ct/kWh** for the energy. ### Standard model ### LEC model ## Estimate your savings in 30 seconds Enter your situation to get a personalised estimate of your annual savings with an LEC. Average Swiss household: ~4'500 kWh/year, detached house: ~6'000 kWh/year Depends on local solar production and your profile Your estimated annual saving Bill without LEC CHF 1'395 Bill with LEC CHF 1'330 Estimated additional income Income without LEC CHF 560 Income with LEC CHF 870 Indicative estimate based on average tariffs, with Celium's share (20% of the value created) already deducted. [ElCom source](https://www.prix-electricite.elcom.admin.ch/) Energy part of the supplier tariff (excluding grid and taxes) Calculated automatically: 40% of the gains to producers, 40% to consumers, 20% to Celium Buy-back of the surplus by the electricity supplier Grid usage charges before discount Grid surcharge, Swissgrid, etc. ## Celium covers the entire lifecycle of your LEC From the first spark to day-to-day management, Celium supports you at every step. ### Matching #### Smart matching Submit your profile in 2 minutes. Celium automatically finds compatible neighbours in your grid zone and checks the legal criteria. #### Topology verification Celium checks whether you are on the same grid as your neighbours and the applicable discount rate (40% or 20%). #### Personalised estimate Before any commitment, Celium calculates your projected savings based on your consumption, your role and the applicable discount zone. ### Creation #### DSO support Topology requests, registration, agreement with digital signature: Celium handles all the procedures. #### Automatic internal prices Your LEC's internal prices (surplus buy-back and resale to consumers) are calculated automatically from the DSO's reference tariffs, for a fair split of the gains, and recalculated at every tariff adjustment. #### Promotion of your LEC Your LEC gets a public page on Celium where interested neighbours can apply online. You can also keep it private. ### Administration #### Automated billing Import your DSO data. Celium calculates the allocation, generates the QR-code bills and tracks payments. #### Flow tracking Real-time dashboard: kWh exchanged, cumulative savings in francs, CO₂ impact. Each member follows their own figures. #### Forum & Knowledge base Exchange with other LEC members. Articles, videos, webinars: everything you need to understand and get the most out of your LEC. ### Already have an LEC, or a well-advanced project? Municipalities, property managers, condominium associations and building owners: Celium can operate your LEC under a management mandate. Exact scope, pricing and limits of the service on a dedicated page. ## Grouping zones for LECs The classification (20% or 40%) indicates the reduction in the transport charges for the electricity exchanged within the LEC. More DSOs will be added soon (SIL, Viteos, OIKEN…) Type a place: the map centres on it. For a full address, Celium also shows the municipality, grid operator and discount zone. Suggestions from the Swiss federal register (addresses, localities, postcodes). Use the layer panel at the top right to turn the 20% and 40% groups on or off. Click on a zone to display its details. You can switch between the OpenStreetMap and Swisstopo base maps. ## Find your LEC, or create it with your neighbours Submit your profile in 2 minutes. Celium automatically connects you with compatible neighbours in your grid zone. ### Submit your candidate profile The unique identifier of your meter. It appears on your electricity bill. Your data is processed in accordance with the Swiss FADP (nLPD) and hosted in Switzerland. #### Profile saved! Thank you! Your profile has been saved. Celium will analyse your zone and notify you as soon as a match is found. In the meantime, share this link with your neighbours to speed up the creation of an LEC in your neighbourhood! ## Benefits and limits of an LEC We believe in full transparency. Here is what an LEC can, and cannot, do for you. ### Benefits Sell your solar surplus **up to ~70% higher** than what the supplier (the DSO) offers Save **~20%** on the energy consumed that comes from the LEC A discount on network charges depending on the type of LEC chosen (**40%** if same transformer or **20%** if same substation) Consume **local, renewable and traceable** energy Remain an individual customer of the supplier, with the option to leave the LEC at any time Strengthen **local solidarity** and the energy autonomy of the neighbourhood **Beneficial for the supplier too**: by encouraging local consumption, the LEC reduces the surplus injected into the grid, a technical and financial constraint that distribution system operators (DSOs) are precisely trying to limit ### Limits and constraints The LEC must be able to produce at least **5%** of the total connection capacity. Without a producer, the LEC would have no benefit in any case. The savings on the energy part as well as on the transport part only apply to exchanges within the LEC. When the producers do not generate enough, at night for example, electricity is consumed at the usual tariff. Administrative management is complex → **Celium takes care of everything** Billing is complex → **Celium fully automates this process** ## How it works From your first idea to a working LEC, here is what **you** actually do. ### I submit my profile Address, role (consumer, producer or both), capacity: **2 minutes** are enough. Celium identifies my DSO and my grid zone. ### Celium connects me with my neighbours Does an LEC already exist in my zone? I join it. Otherwise, Celium shows me the interested neighbours and checks that the group is viable (same grid, 5% threshold). ### We form the LEC together Celium generates the agreement, handles registration with the DSO and the digital signature. I have no administrative forms to fill in myself. ### We recruit more neighbours The larger the LEC grows, the greater the savings. Celium provides flyers, invitation links and a public showcase to attract new members. ### Celium bills automatically Every month, Celium imports the DSO data, allocates energy at 15-minute intervals, generates the bills with a Swiss QR-code and tracks payments. ### I track my savings Real-time dashboard: kWh exchanged, savings in francs, CO₂ impact, payment status. Celium handles everything for you. ## Celium only earns when your LEC creates value No subscription, no fixed fees. The internal price is **calculated automatically** from the DSO's reference tariffs, so that the gains are shared fairly between producers and consumers. Of every franc of value created How the value created in your community is shared: 40 / 40 / 20 ### Celium's share halved for the first year For any support request submitted by 31 October 2026, Celium keeps only **10 cents** per franc of value created during the first twelve months of operation of your LEC. The remaining 90 cents are shared equally: **45 cents to producers, 45 cents to consumers**. From the second year, the standard 40 / 40 / 20 split applies. Still no fixed fees. First year 45 / 45 / 10 instead of 40 / 40 / 20 Producers Of every franc of value created go to the producers Your solar surplus is bought back at a price well above the DSO's buy-back tariff. Consumers Of every franc of value created go to the consumers You pay less for the LEC's energy and benefit from the 20 or 40% grid discount. Celium Of every franc of value created fund Celium Complete management: billing, settlements, compliance and relations with the DSO. The LEC's internal prices (buy-back of the producers' surplus and resale to consumers) are calculated automatically from the DSO's reference tariffs and recalculated at every tariff adjustment. Celium's share is only taken on the value actually measured at settlement: **no value created, no Celium fee**. Amounts excluding VAT. ### Which reference tariffs are the internal prices calculated from? From two public figures, neither estimated nor negotiated. As soon as one of them changes, your LEC's internal prices are recalculated. Reference sale price The tariff published by ElCom on [prix-electricite.elcom.admin.ch](https://www.prix-electricite.elcom.admin.ch/) for your municipality, for the **standard product of category H4** (typical household). Celium uses its published components: energy, grid usage, taxes and levies. Reference buy-back price The buy-back tariff for surplus solar that your DSO **publishes at the end of each quarter**, **guarantees of origin included**. That is what a producer outside any LEC receives. The value created per shared kWh follows from these two references: grid discount + (avoided DSO energy − DSO buy-back). That value is then split 40 / 40 / 20. #### Celium runs your LEC from A to Z No need to appoint a manager: Celium handles the complete administration of your LEC (billing, compliance, relations with the DSO and flow tracking). ## FAQ A Local Energy Community (LEC) is a grouping of electricity consumers and producers within the same municipality. Since 1 January 2026, Swiss federal law (art. 17d-17e LApEl) allows LEC members to share solar electricity over the public distribution grid, with a 20 to 40% discount on grid usage charges. Celium charges **no subscription and no fixed fees**. Its remuneration is a share of the value actually created by your LEC, measured at each settlement: of every franc of value created, **40 cents go to the producers, 40 cents to the consumers and 20 cents fund Celium**. The LEC's internal prices (surplus buy-back and resale to consumers) are calculated automatically from the DSO's reference tariffs to guarantee this fair split. No value created, no Celium fee. From two public tariffs of your DSO. The **reference sale price** is the one published by ElCom on [prix-electricite.elcom.admin.ch](https://www.prix-electricite.elcom.admin.ch/) for your municipality, for the **standard product of category H4** (typical household): Celium uses its energy, grid usage, taxes and levies components. The **reference buy-back price** is the one your DSO **publishes at the end of each quarter** for surplus solar, **guarantees of origin included**. The value created per shared kWh (grid discount + avoided DSO energy − DSO buy-back) follows from these, and the LEC's internal prices are recalculated at every new publication. The **40%** discount applies when LEC members are connected to the same transformer station (grid level 7 / NE7). This is the most favourable case. The **20%** discount applies when members are connected to the same substation (grid level 5 / NE5) but not necessarily to the same transformer. Check the Celium interactive map to verify your zone. Yes, you remain an individual customer of your electricity supplier. You can leave the LEC at any time, in line with the terms set out in the community agreement. You lose none of your rights as a consumer. The law requires that the total production of an LEC be at least equal to 5% of the consumers' total connection capacity (art. 19e OApEl). For example, if the LEC consumers have a total connection capacity of 200 kW, at least 10 kWp of solar production is needed. Celium checks this threshold automatically for you. The **DSO** (Distribution System Operator) is the company that operates the local electricity grid (cables, transformers, smart meters) and delivers electricity to your home. In practice, for the vast majority of households in French-speaking Switzerland, it is also your **electricity supplier**: the same company (Romande Énergie, Groupe E, BKW, SIG, etc.) handles both the grid and the energy billing. That is why we use the two terms interchangeably on this site. Celium currently holds the topology data for four DSOs: **Romande Énergie** (Canton of Vaud, Lower Valais), **Groupe E** (Canton of Fribourg, parts of Vaud and Neuchâtel), **BKW** (Bernese Jura, Seeland, Emmental) and **SIG** (Canton of Geneva). For the other DSOs (SIL, Viteos, etc.), Celium can submit the topology information request on your behalf. Yes, every LEC participant must have a smart meter for 15-minute interval metering. If you don't have one yet, the DSO is required to install it within 3 months of the request, at no installation cost to you: the meter and its replacement are borne by the DSO, which includes their cost in its metering tariff, as for all its customers. LEne legal framework Compliant with the Energy Act lokalerstrom.ch Listed in the official register FADP compliant Swiss data protection Hosted in Switzerland Data on Swiss servers ## Contact us Do you have a question about LECs, about Celium, or about your particular situation? Write to us, we reply within 48h. **Would you like to join an LEC?** Use our matching form instead, it is faster and Celium will be able to analyse your eligibility automatically. ### Message sent! Thank you! We will reply within 48h to the address provided.