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Photo: Ute Grabowsky / photothek / IMAGO
The Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW) has brought into play a reduction in the minimum temperature in Germany's apartments by up to six degrees Celsius.
The reason is a possible gas shortage in the coming winter.
"Should gas supplies to Germany be significantly restricted in the future and there should be a shortage, the legal framework should be adjusted so that further reductions in the minimum temperature to a maximum lower limit of 18 degrees during the day and 16 degrees at night are possible," said GdW President Axel Gedaschko the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Currently, a minimum temperature of 20 to 22 degrees Celsius must be guaranteed in winter.
The Russian energy company Gazprom recently further reduced its gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline.
The GdW called on its member companies to check gas-supplied residential buildings for potential savings, said Gedaschko.
The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, had previously spoken out in favor of lowering the minimum temperature in order to save gas.
»The state could temporarily lower the heating requirements for landlords.
We are discussing this with politicians," said Müller of the "Rheinische Post".
The CDU business council, which is close to business, argues in a similar way.
"Even when the temperature inside is 18 degrees, you can live with a little warm clothing without any problems," said the Secretary General of the Council, Wolfgang Steiger.
Germany will have to save large amounts of gas in the coming winter in order to make ends meet.
20 to 22 degrees are "a luxury good" in winter.
Steiger also warned of "devastating consequences" for the labor market if, in an emergency, the industry first stopped receiving gas.
Blanket »cannot be the solution«
The German Tenants' Association, on the other hand, is resisting.
The demand is too undifferentiated, said President Lukas Siebenkotten.
“Older people, for example, often freeze faster than younger ones.
Telling them now that they should take one more blanket cannot be the solution«.
If you live in a poorly renovated apartment, you also have to reckon with additional costs.
Instead, the tenants' association relies on voluntariness.
Many tenants are already saving energy, and the German Tenants' Association wants to continue promoting savings in the coming weeks and months.
At the same time, awareness of the need to use energy sparingly must be raised among all people, »including those who own property«.
rai/dpa
