Bern, Nov 10 (IANS): The Swiss government has approved the use of emergency power generators to secure energy supply this winter, local media reported.

The generators are generally used to supply electricity to drinking water pumps or computer centres in the event of a breakdown in the public network, Xinhua news agency quoted the local media as saying.

The country is also considering plans to build gas storage tanks to avoid an energy crunch in Switzerland.

Before Wednesday's decision on the generators, Switzerland had decided on several measures to secure the country's energy supply.

These include hydroelectric reserves, increasing the capacity of the electricity transmission network, a rescue mechanism for systemically important electricity companies, and temporary reduction of residual flows.

A recent survey published by Credit Suisse showed that one in ten companies in Switzerland had scaled back output because of high electricity prices, before possible winter energy shortages.

According to the survey, the most popular step Swiss companies are taking to secure energy supplies is curbing consumption, followed by acquiring emergency generators and batteries, and measures such as installing solar panels.