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Close the door, turn off the heating, turn off the lights: Habeck's energy-saving plan is effective immediately - many municipalities are already going further

2022-09-01T08:22:26.149Z


Close the door, turn off the heating, turn off the lights: Habeck's energy-saving plan is effective immediately - many municipalities are already going further Created: 09/01/2022 10:13 am By: Dominik Goettler Neuschwanstein remains dark - even though the community recently purchased more economical lighting for 300,000 euros. © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa The Energy Saving Ordinance comes into


Close the door, turn off the heating, turn off the lights: Habeck's energy-saving plan is effective immediately - many municipalities are already going further

Created: 09/01/2022 10:13 am

By: Dominik Goettler

Neuschwanstein remains dark - even though the community recently purchased more economical lighting for 300,000 euros.

© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa

The Energy Saving Ordinance comes into force.

Changes are pending throughout Bavaria.

Some municipalities are already a step ahead of the federal government.

Munich – Wednesday morning shortly before 10 a.m. at the Munich Viktualienmarkt.

At the traditional department store Kustermann, the first customers are already cavorting in front of the shop windows, although the doors are still closed.

Managing director Caspar-Friedrich Brauckmann sits a few floors up and talks about "this strange regulation", which he too has to comply with from Thursday.

Room temperature down, entrance door not permanently open, neon sign off.

Habeck's energy saving plan.

"As if we haven't been checking every nook and cranny for months where we can save energy," says Brauckmann.

His contract with the electricity provider runs until the end of the year.

After that, the bill is twice as high as before.

Bavaria: Almost everyone will feel the Energy Saving Ordinance

For years Germany was dependent on the Russian gas needle.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the federal government now has to free itself from this dependency within a few months.

This is not without consequences.

And so Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) imposed various austerity measures on his country in order to reduce energy consumption over the winter.

The first regulation comes into force on Thursday.

It is aimed at municipalities, business and private individuals (see box).

Almost everyone will feel this - because many municipalities are already going further than required by the federal government.

This is in the Energy Saving Ordinance

Dark cities and cooler offices: The first Federal Energy Saving Ordinance (EnSikuMaV for short) will apply from Thursday.

This stipulates, for example, that clauses from rental contracts that stipulate a certain minimum temperature in rented rooms are suspended.

The credo: If you want to turn down the heating, you should be allowed to do so.

The heating of private pools - whether indoors or outdoors - with gas and electricity from the mains is prohibited.

How is this supposed to be controlled?

Open.

In public buildings, the room temperature should be limited to a maximum of 19 degrees - little-used rooms such as foyers and corridors should no longer be heated at all.

Monuments and buildings may no longer be illuminated.

And in retail, the shop doors have to remain closed so that the heat does not escape.

Illuminated advertising systems must remain switched off from 10 p.m. to 4 p.m.

So much for the first specifications, which initially apply for six months - and should contribute to the 20 percent savings target for this winter.

In Starnberg, for example, the city council decided to completely close the sauna area in the seaside resort.

Initially until the planned maintenance work in October - but it is quite conceivable that the sauna will remain closed after that.

"A municipal sauna is currently a little outdated," said Starnberg Mayor Patrick Janik at the meeting.


Wimps, on the other hand, have to be prepared for something in the municipal sports halls

In Erding, sauna lovers will still get their money's worth in the (non-municipal) thermal baths.

Wimpy showers, on the other hand, have to be prepared for something in the municipal sports halls: In the future, only cold water will come out of the shower head there.

A decision that caused discussions in the clubs.

The counter-argument: This does not save a lot of energy, because the athletes then just take a warm shower at home - and possibly catch a cold on the sweaty journey home.


In almost all city and municipal councils, lighting is also being considered.

Munich Airport does not illuminate unnecessary signs, around 7,000 light points have already been switched off.

Many municipalities are dimming their street lights, and where they have not yet done so, the conversion to more economical LED lights is to be promoted.

As long as traffic safety is not affected, it could get darker this winter in many ways.

And not only there.


Lower the room temperature in offices, offer more home offices, no hot water: the Bavarian state government has decided on energy-saving measures.

A dark royal castle symbolizing energy saving

A call to Stefan Rinke.

He is mayor of the municipality of Schwangau in the Allgäu.

In its place are two of the most famous landmarks in Bavaria, the royal castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.

So far, these postcard motifs have been illuminated in the evening.

Not anymore.

"The lighting has been off since the beginning of August," says Rinke.

This is quite controversial in the community.

After all, only a few years ago, Schwangau spent 300,000 euros on a new lighting concept.

LED instead of halogen, economical and yet magnificent enough for the community's showpieces that fill the town's hotel rooms every year.

"It hurts to just turn off the lights," admits Rinke.

Still, he thinks it's right.

“It's not so much about the kilowatt hours saved.

It's about the symbol that we set with it.” The message: It's not a time of abundance right now.

Everyone has to do their part to save energy.

Also in the home of Ludwig's castles.

But how much symbolic renunciation is appropriate without completely cutting off people's friends in the crisis?

This is the subject of the debate that is currently being held in many municipalities.

One point of contention: the Christmas lights.

Starnberg is slimming down this year.

Only the church square is festively illuminated - and that only on public holidays and during the Christmas market.

Elsewhere it stays dark.

Erding, on the other hand, leaves the Christmas lights untouched.

One does not want to be a mood killer, emphasized Mayor Max Gotz.

Schwangau will also not shine as brightly in Advent as in previous years.

"We will reduce, but certainly not switch everything off," says Mayor Rinke.

“We are a tourist region.

We have to convey a bit of Christmas feeling.”


The need to save energy is not questioned in the municipalities

The need to save energy is not questioned in the municipalities.

However, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities considers rules such as closed doors in shops to be uncontrollable.

And politically there is strong headwind for Habeck's savings plans.

The CDU Economic Council speaks of "quick shots from the ideological mothball box", which only achieve a minimal effect.

Bavaria's Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (FW) also leaves a good hair on Habeck's regulation.

"Monuments, pools, shop doors - it's an indictment that the federal government can't think of anything else to secure the energy supply of an industrialized country," says Aiwanger.

"Maybe the Christmas lights on the Christmas tree will also be banned?"


For Aiwanger, the solution lies elsewhere.

"We need an immediate decision to extend the service life of Isar 2 beyond New Year's Eve." That accounts for around 15 percent of Bavaria's power supply.

And the restart of Gundremmingen would bring another ten percent.

Instead, the power plant will be sawn up.

For Aiwanger "an unbelievable stupidity".


By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you about all the important stories from Bavaria.

Sign up here.

"What does illuminated advertising mean?"

Caspar-Friedrich Brauckmann from the Kustermann department store still does not know how exactly the regulation announced just a week ago is actually supposed to be implemented.

“What does illuminated advertising mean?

Which entrance doors must remain closed even though they are considered an escape route?

A lot of things are still unclear.” In any case, he would not have a good feeling if the energy-saving measures led to Munich turning off its street lights at night and all the shop windows were dark at some point.

"People still have to feel comfortable."


Of course, retail also has a role model function.

"But small-scale actionism doesn't help us." The government must give companies more personal responsibility.

He has been trying to get a PV system on the roof since February.

“We could use this to produce 30 percent of our electricity ourselves.” But monument protection stood in the way for a long time.

Only now is something slowly moving.

"We could be much further."

Taking a shower and doing something for your own energy balance - that's possible.

A Bavarian university professor explains what each of us can change.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-09-01

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