Consequences of the energy crisis: Nurembergers call for heat funds based on the Munich model

Created: 09/12/2022, 16:40

By: Nikolas Pelke

Around 350 people took to the streets in Nuremberg on Saturday against exploding heating costs.

© Nikolas Pelke

Due to skyrocketing heating costs, a Nuremberg alliance took to the streets on Saturday for the introduction of a heat fund based on the Munich model.

Nuremberg – The rising heating costs in particular drove around 350 people to protest in Nuremberg on Saturday.

Gunther Geiler can sing a song about the problem.

The managing director of the German Tenants' Association in Nuremberg is at home in a district heating apartment himself.

Energy crisis: Costs increase by an average of 70 percent

Nuremberg's public utilities recently announced that they intend to drastically increase the prices for the municipal district heating network by an average of more than 70 percent from October 1st.

According to Geiler, many of his neighbors are desperate and don't yet know how to pay the exploding utility bills in addition to the rent?

"Increases of this magnitude not only pose huge problems for poor families, but even for middle-income households," says Gunther Geiler from the tenants' association in Nuremberg, and explicitly criticizes the municipal Nuremberg energy supplier N-Ergie for the hefty price increase.

Gunther Geiler from the German Tenants' Association (right) calls for a heating fund for Nuremberg based on the Munich model.

© Nikolas Pelke

On the other hand, the municipal district heating provider defended the price increase, for example with reference to the federal government's new gas levy.

After all, according to N-Ergie, this new surcharge also applies if natural gas is used to generate district heating.

This leads to "considerable additional costs" that have to be passed on to customers in addition to the other price increases.

N-Ergie expressly pointed out that the exact amount of the surcharge for the gas levy has not yet been determined.

After all, customers can already expect a larger jump in price.

A three-person household in an apartment building would have to reckon with additional costs of around 750 euros a year, even without the additional costs from the gas levy.

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Demonstrators call for a heat fund for Nuremberg

Gunther Geiler has therefore already called for the introduction of a hardship fund in order to be able to provide district heating households with financial support if necessary.

In Munich, the municipal utilities have already set up a heat fund of 20 million euros.

According to Geiler, Nuremberg must follow this example.

"Based on Munich, a heating fund of ten million euros must now be set up by N-Ergie to support low-income households that cannot bear the increased burden," emphasized the managing director of the tenants' association on Saturday in Nuremberg.

hot autumn?

The next protests against high heating costs are to take place in Nuremberg on October 1st.

© Nikolas Pelke

Meanwhile, Left City Councilor Titus Schüller fears that the protests in Nuremberg will also increase with the approaching heating season.

“The protests were just the beginning.

Because many people will only be sent the price increases for electricity and gas in the next few days", the Nuremberg city council is certain and calls for further measures to relieve small and medium-sized incomes.

Energy crisis: district heating supplier demands price reduction

Meanwhile, one day after the announced price increase, the Nuremberg energy supplier itself, curiously enough, called for price reductions.

"It is incomprehensible why the VAT adjustment should only apply to natural gas and not to district heating.

Our district heating customers must not be put in a worse position than our customers who heat their homes with natural gas," Maik Render, CEO of the municipal energy supplier, demanded surprisingly clearly one day after the price increase was announced.

In addition to the Federal Government's latest relief package, the VAT reduction should therefore be "urgently" applied to district heating.

Meanwhile, the next protest action against high heating costs in Nuremberg is already planned.

As early as October 1, the Social Security Initiative, which was launched by the left-wing trade unionist Lothar Gritschke, wants to take to the streets again in Nuremberg.