How big is Switzerland's transmission network?

OverWatts maps 3,595 km of transmission line in Switzerland, across 1,730 segments, plus 28 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.

What voltage is Switzerland's grid?

Most of the mapped network is high voltage (220–379 kV): 2,058 km of 3,595 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 400 kV.

How complete is the grid map for Switzerland?

Strong — 78.1 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 97% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.

Who operates the grid in Switzerland?

Swissgrid, NOK, RTE and 5 others are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 32% of Switzerland's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.

What interconnectors connect Switzerland to its neighbours?

12,850 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to Germany, Italy, France, Austria, plus 4,950 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Switzerland · electricity network

Switzerland power grid

OverWatts maps 3,595 km of Switzerland's electricity transmission network across 1,730 line segments and 28 substations, the 69th most-mapped grid of 153 countries. Its backbone is high voltage (220–379 kV), carrying 2,058 km — 57% of the mapped length, with the highest tagged voltage at 400 kV. That works out to 78.1 km per 1,000 km² of land — strong OpenStreetMap coverage, ahead of 97% of mapped countries. It is connected to 4 neighbouring grids by 12,850 MW of existing cross-border transfer capacity, with a further 4,950 MW planned.

Open the grid lens →Switzerland profile →

3,595 km

Mapped transmission line

Substations

#69

of 153 mapped grids

12.8 GW

cross-border · 4 neighbours

400 kV

Highest voltage

OpenStreetMap coverage

Strong78.1 km / 1,000 km²ahead of 97% of 153 mapped countries

This grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn Switzerland's network — not how much network exists. Large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone, and every kilometre here is mapped length, so the totals are a floor rather than an operator-reported figure. 4% of segments carry a real line name and 32% an operator tag.

Mapped line length by voltage

380–764 kV1,537 km 43%
220–379 kV2,058 km 57%

1,730 segments · a segment is credited to the country containing its midpoint, so a border-crossing line counts once, on one side.

12.8 GW existing · 5.0 GW planned · capacities from the Global Transmission Database v0.1 (CC BY 4.0), existing as of 2023

On the interactive map

Open the interactive map →

Load against the network

14.3 GW

Operating generation

Data centres mapped

128

km of line per substation

78.1

km per 1,000 km²

Where there is room to connect a new load depends on published hosting capacity, which most operators release only as their own map. OverWatts does not yet ingest those feeds, so these are the density measures the open data supports — generation and mapped demand against mapped network — not a headroom figure.

Segment counts from OSM `operator` tags, merged across spellings. Present on 32% of segments — this ranks who is recorded, not market share.

How Switzerland compares · mapped grid by country

1. People's Republic of China624,300 km
67. Hungary3,786 km
68. Kenya3,616 km
69. Switzerland3,595 km
70. Serbia3,345 km
71. Ivory Coast3,260 km

Frequently asked

How big is Switzerland's transmission network?: OverWatts maps 3,595 km of transmission line in Switzerland, across 1,730 segments, plus 28 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.
What voltage is Switzerland's grid?: Most of the mapped network is high voltage (220–379 kV): 2,058 km of 3,595 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 400 kV.
How complete is the grid map for Switzerland?: Strong — 78.1 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 97% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.
Who operates the grid in Switzerland?: Swissgrid, NOK, RTE and 5 others are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 32% of Switzerland's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.
What interconnectors connect Switzerland to its neighbours?: 12,850 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to Germany, Italy, France, Austria, plus 4,950 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Elsewhere in Switzerland

Transmission lines Substations Power plants Data centres

Network geometry: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) © OpenStreetMap contributors, ingested and measured by OverWatts · derived 2026-07-26. Counts every mapped line of 220 kV and above; the map layer draws the ≥380 kV backbone only, so it shows less than is measured here.