Austria: Kitzbühel wants to switch off rich electricity
Created: 09/09/2022, 15:10
By: Martina Lippl
The noble ski resort of Kitzbühel in the blaze of lights in winter (archive photo).
The place in Tyrol (Austria) wants to take action against rich electricity wasters.
© Volker Preusser/imago
Kitzbühel is one of the favorite places for celebrities in winter.
The kitz society meets in the Tyrolean alpine village.
The posh ski resort now wants to take action against rich energy wasters.
Kitzbühel – Austria caught it cold.
Electricity prices are exploding.
Even Kitzbühel is preparing for a hard winter.
In the winter sports resort, some guests and holiday home owners traditionally have a good time.
The parties in and around Kitzbühel are "legendary".
Money doesn't matter.
Luxury is trumps.
Ironically, the mayor of Kitzbühel discovered enormous potential for savings here.
According to reports in the Austrian media, he wants to take action against the rich energy wasters.
Kitzbühel wants to turn off electricity wasters – mayor rails against “luxury consumption”
"It is unacceptable that ordinary citizens have to save electricity where there is little potential for savings anyway, and others waste energy," explains Winker in the
Tiroler Tageszeitung
.
The mayor is bothered by Christmas lights, heated garage entrances or pools.
For many holiday home or typical second home owners, it could probably be uncomfortable this winter.
The "luxury consumption" should be restricted from a certain point,
reports
oe24.at.
Kitzbühel therefore wants to develop its own plan for this – “professional energy management” would be commissioned.
The city is examining legal options.
Energy crisis in Austria: Vienna switches off the lights - ski areas in economy mode
Vienna will probably switch off the lights soon.
The Christmas lights are also part of the austerity measures in the energy crisis.
Other cities such as Salzburg, Innsbruck and Linz are already following suit.
The ski areas are preparing for the economy mode in the winter season.
Heated seats in the lifts, reduced use of snow cannons and shorter operating times are under discussion for the cable cars in Salzburg.
According to the ORF, the Saalbach-Hinterglemm (Pinzgau) ski area uses as much electricity per winter season for snowmaking as 5,000 households in a year.
But without snow there is no winter season.
For a solid snow base on the slopes, you want to start saving electricity as late as possible, a cable car spokesman told ORF.
The Salzburg cable car industry is planning to switch off the seat heaters on chairlifts and in gondolas, cancel night skiing and also drive more slowly.
If the speed is reduced by 20 percent, the winter sports enthusiasts will spend a little longer in the lift, but "the quality of the stay is not impaired".
(ml)