Germany may not have enough gas to heat this winter. Precautionary measures are being taken everywhere to mitigate the consequences.
Munich – Vladimir Putin could make the Germans tremble in the coming winter. And based on the current status, that would really not surprise anyone in this country, but rather be understood as a reaction to the sanctions because of the Ukraine war. Despite a redistribution of gas imports, Germany is still far too dependent on Russia for the raw material to be able to intercept a possible delivery stop, which is currently in the pipeline after the upcoming maintenance work on Nord Stream 1.
That is why – unlike in all the Corona waves – at least at first glance it seems to be acting with foresight. Should the federal government announce the third and final stage of the gas emergency plan due to an acute gas shortage, private households and critical infrastructure such as hospitals or the police would be given special protection, but the economy in particular would have to step back.
Germany facing a gas shortage? Cities and municipalities are already implementing austerity measures
According to Markus Jeger, CEO of the Mittelstandsverband, companies are already concerned because they don’t know what to expect. “A gas shortage will have serious consequences,” he emphasizes in the picture on sunday: “Very few small and medium-sized businesses have the financial resources to get through such a situation.”
While the President of the Tenants’ Association, Lukas Siebenkotten, predicts that gas bills will double for private households within a year, Gerd Landsberg, General Manager of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, advises in the tabloid newspaper: “There will be no way around implementing cost-cutting measures now.”
Cities and communities are “one of the largest real estate owners and operate a large number of particularly energy-intensive facilities such as swimming pools, sports halls, administration buildings, kindergartens and schools”. Landsberg brings “heat islands and warm rooms” into the conversation, “where older people in particular can stay even in a very cold winter”.
Germany is preparing for a gas shortage: multi-purpose halls could become heat islands
This idea is already being implemented in some cities, as the newspaper reports. In Ludwigshafen, for example, a multi-purpose hall that was also used as a vaccination center is to be converted into a warm-up facility in winter. Heat islands are also planned in other Rhineland-Palatinate cities such as Neustadt, Frankenthal or Landau.
In addition, lighting and traffic lights should be switched off at night. In Düsseldorf, the plan is to heat less in autumn and winter. Rendsburg in Schleswig-Holstein is canceling its planned ice surface for the Christmas market in order to save energy.
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Germany and the possible gas shortage: Measures affect many swimming pools
Munich has lowered the minimum temperature in the outdoor pools and the outdoor pools of the indoor pools. Nuremberg will close three of its four indoor swimming pools from mid-July to the end of September, Augsburg will largely do without facade lighting and will switch off many fountains.
In Regensburg, the intervals between rinsing and showering in swimming pools have been reduced, and according to a spokeswoman, the outdoor pools are only heated by the sun. Bamberg has converted traffic lights and lanterns to LED technology.
All of these measures are intended to help mitigate the effects of a possible gas supply stop. And to face the horror scenario of a shiver winter that is being sketched out more and more frequently.
Federal Network Agency on gas supply: “Save as much as possible”
The Federal Network Agency called the supply situation “tense” as of Friday afternoon and added: “A deterioration in the situation cannot be ruled out.” At the moment, however, security of supply is “further guaranteed”.
In addition, the authority belonging to the Federal Ministry of Economics informs: “The current filling level of the storage in Germany is 63.2 percent.” For a “storage level of 90 percent by November”, however, “additional measures” are almost certainly necessary. Therefore, the Federal Network Agency “expressly supports the request to save as much gas as possible”. A note to every single citizen in the country. It is another opportunity to show solidarity. (mg)
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