The guarantee of origin (GO) is the certificate that identifies your electricity as solar power – and it's worth money separately: 1.0 to 3.5 Rp./kWh depending on the utility, on top of the energy remuneration. The catch: this money almost nowhere flows automatically. It requires registration with Pronovo and an active assignment to the utility – the forgotten GO is the most common avoidable loss of income for Swiss solar systems. (As of: July 2026)
Key points in brief
- For every kilowatt-hour fed in, a second product arises alongside the energy: the guarantee of origin – tradeable and optionally sellable.
- The utilities in the region pay very differently for it: from 1.0 Rp. (WWZ) through 1.5 Rp. (Glattwerk) to 3.0–3.5 Rp. (EKZ, ewz, Winterthur in the contract model).
- At an energy price around 10 Rp., the GO makes up up to a quarter of the total remuneration – not a detail, but a relevant item.
- The path to the money: register the system in Pronovo's GO system, set up a standing order for the GO in favour of the utility, observe the utility's deadlines.
- Systems under 2 kW cannot participate in the GO system; for larger systems, an auditor's certification may be required.
What is a guarantee of origin – and why is it worth money?
Physically, electricity in the grid is indistinguishable – nobody can tell by looking whether a kilowatt-hour comes from your solar module or a power plant. So that electricity products like «100% solar power» can still be sold honestly, there's the guarantee of origin: an electronic certificate that records, for every kilowatt-hour produced, where and how it was generated. The system is operated by Pronovo AG – the same body that also handles the one-off feed-in incentive.
Because energy suppliers need such certificates to declare their green electricity products, GOs have a market value. For you as a producer, that means: your feed-in consists of two sellable products – the energy and the certificate. Anyone who only sells the energy gives away the second one.
What do the utilities in the region pay?
| Grid operator | GO remuneration (solar) | Distinctive feature |
|---|---|---|
| EKZ | up to 3.0 Rp./kWh | registration + assignment required |
| ewz | 3.0 Rp./kWh | already included in the standard tariff |
| Stadtwerk Winterthur | 3.5 Rp. (winter) / 2.0 Rp. (summer) | only in the contract model |
| Glattwerk (Dübendorf) | 1.5 Rp./kWh | on request; annual right to choose |
| AEW (Aargau) | included in the fixed price of 8.2 Rp. | without GO surrender → market-price model |
| WWZ (Zug) | 1.0 Rp./kWh (up to 100 kW) | payout only in May of the following year |
Guideline values excl. VAT, as of: July 2026, according to the tariff sheets verified in the individual guides (overview). The rates are adjusted annually.
The range is remarkable: between the WWZ and EKZ areas there's a factor of three for the GO – for an identical system. You can't change this (the grid operator is tied to the address), but you should know it: in the low-price area, self-consumption weighs all the more heavily; in the high-price area, a clean GO registration is worth all the more.
How to get the money: the process in three steps
1. Register the system in the GO system. This runs via Pronovo – for new systems, sensibly together with the EIV application. Smaller systems go through a simplified procedure; for larger ones, individual utilities require certification by an accredited auditor. 2. Assign the GO to the utility. A standing order is common, which automatically transfers the certificates to the utility's trading account – set up once, valid on an ongoing basis. Individual utilities require an explicit application (Glattwerk) or tie the GO to a contract model (Winterthur, AEW fixed price). 3. Keep an eye on the deadlines. Examples from the region: at Glattwerk, the annual right to choose has to be exercised by the end of November; WWZ delivers GOs annually and, for small systems, only pays out in May of the following year. Anyone who understands the billing loses nothing – anyone who never looks at it also doesn't notice the missing GO item.
Can I sell the GO elsewhere too?
Yes – the GO belongs to you, assigning it to the local utility is the most convenient path, not the only one. Alternatives are marketing pools and direct buyers – in Thurgau, for instance, the Solarstrom-Pool Thurgau. For the typical single-family home system, the detour rarely pays off: the volumes are small, the administrative effort large relative to that, and the pool's terms aren't necessarily better than the utility's offer. Free marketing becomes interesting for large systems with corresponding certificate volumes – there it belongs in the profitability calculation.
What, by contrast, is not worth it: keeping the GO on principle. A certificate that lapses unused has a value of exactly zero – ecologically as well as financially.
When we check existing systems that weren't built by us, the missing GO item is the most common finding – well ahead of technical defects. The pattern is always the same: the system was installed cleanly, the Pronovo EIV came through, and after that nobody ever compared the utility's billing with the tariff sheet. Depending on the grid area, one to three Rappen per fed-in kilowatt-hour have been lying idle there for years. Our recommendation to every system owner, regardless of installer: take your last annual bill and look for the GO line item. If it's missing, a call to the utility is probably the best-paid piece of admin you'll do all year.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get the GO proceeds retroactively if I forgot to register?
As a rule, no – remuneration starts from when the standing order is set up, or according to the utility's deadlines. That's exactly why the GO registration belongs in the commissioning, not on the to-do list.
Can I keep the GO and declare my own electricity as «solar power»?
You don't need a certificate for self-consumption – electricity from your own roof is already yours. GOs arise for the fed-in energy; keeping them and letting them lapse benefits nobody.
Why does my utility pay less for the GO in summer?
Some utilities stagger seasonally – Stadtwerk Winterthur, for instance, remunerates the winter GO at 3.5 and the summer GO at 2.0 Rp., analogous to the energy price. The respective tariff sheet is authoritative.
My system is 1.5 kW – can I sell GOs?
No, systems under 2 kW don't participate in the GO system. That's why the GO isn't relevant for balcony power plants.
Is the GO proceeds taxable?
Like the energy remuneration, it counts as income from the system and has to be declared accordingly – the details are covered in the tax deduction guide.
Free initial consultation
Not a single Rappen is left on the table.
With every ecoEn commissioning, Pronovo registration, the GO standing order and deadline checking are standard – and for existing systems, we're happy to review the billing.
Prefer to talk? +41 78 830 83 35
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Sources: Pronovo AG (GO system), tariff sheets and publications from ewz, EKZ, Stadtwerk Winterthur, AEW, WWZ and Glattwerk (2026), Canton of Thurgau (marketing organisations).
Last updated: 9 July 2026 · Author: ecoEn editorial team
