MPs in Bern have backed a plan to phase out the use of more than a quarter million electric heaters in Switzerland by 2025.

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Members of the lower house of parliament voted on Monday in favour of the plan, earlier recommended by an environment committee.

The proposal, which is subject to approval by the senate, would require the replacement of electrical heating systems, regarded as energy guzzlers, with more efficient alternatives.

The federal cabinet is being asked, in conjunction with the cantons, to present a legal framework to abolish existing electric heaters.

The government has already lent its support to such a policy.

The federal energy department is examining, in the context of its 2050 energy strategy, the legislation needed to replace heaters and water heaters that rely on electricity.

Switzerland currently counts more than 250,000 electric heaters in operation, according to a report from the ATS news agency.

These consume the equivalent of the electricity produced by the Mühleberg power station, one of Switzerland’s four nuclear plants.

Last year, the government abandoned plans to replace such plants as they reach the end of their lifespan.

The last of the nuclear reactors, which currently provide almost 40 percent of the country’s energy, is scheduled to go offline in 2034.

As a result, the government is encouraging renewable energy and conservation to replace this supply.

Power-thrifty heat pumps are among the options seen for replacing electric heaters.