The public swimming pools lowered the temperature of the water, closed the saunas and the monuments and public buildings were no longer exhibited to the nighttime tourist because they turned off the lights at night
Gas reservoirs continue to fill, albeit excruciatingly slowly, and Nord Stream has not yet cut off gas supplies to Germany. But in some cities, be it Berlin or Munich, the rationing in the public sector is already beginning to be felt. The public swimming pools lowered the water temperature, closed the saunas and the monuments and public buildings were no longer exhibited to the nighttime tourist because they turned off the lights at night.
These are the first signs that Germany is serious about the need to reduce gas consumption by 15%, according to the plan of European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen. They seem just a starter of the sacrifices a winter brings under the sign of Russian gas shortages and rising energy bills, as the alternatives to Nord Stream supplies, out there, will be more expensive. The residents of Munich, the capital of prosperous Bavaria, started swimming in water several degrees colder than normal – 22 degrees in outdoor pools and 26 degrees indoors. This implies a certain shock in a country where heat waves last only a few days and where the countdown to autumn starts at the beginning of August at the latest. Public saunas closed immediately. They are energetic predators. Something similar is happening in Hanover, in the middle of the country, while in Berlin the possibility is already being raised that after the short summer some public indoor swimming pools, major consumers of energy, will close, leaving the rest limited to their use for schools and athletes.
At the moment, tourists have been most “affected” by the first outbreaks of public rationing. Some 200 public buildings and monuments in the German capital are left in the dark, with no night lights on their facades; some start at 10pm and others around midnight. This includes light shows like those usually offered on these dates between the emblematic Brandenburg Gate and the surroundings of the Reichstag, the historic seat of the German parliament. Each German “Land” applies these measures at its own discretion. In the capital, the citizen has more or less assimilated any kind of restriction, given Berlin’s reputation as a “poor” over-indebted city. In Munich, any of these measures are considered an insult, because if the Bavarian capital boasts anything, compared to that of the country as a whole, it is prosperity and comfort.
From October, more than half of households in a country with 83 million inhabitants will pay the consequences of the Russian gas shortage on their bill. From that moment on, and predictably for the next 16 months, the so-called gas tariff will be applied to consumption. 52% of homes in the country use gas for heating, cooking or hot water. There is no clear estimate of what the costs will be, although it is thought that 1.5 to 5 cents per KwH will be used to prevent companies in the sector affected by the reduction in supplies from going out of business. . The Minister of Economy and Climate Protection, the green Robert Habeck, spoke a few days ago of “several hundred euros” per year for a typical household – ie with four members and with a consumption of 20,000 kWh per year. The chancellor, the social democrat Olaf Scholz, had estimated that amount at about 200 to 300 euros per year. An explosive situation, in a country with a healthy labor market – the unemployment rate stands at 5.6% – but where employment has been precarious for more than a decade.
It’s a “bitter solution,” admitted Habeck, the country’s most esteemed politician today, despite the bad news he has to pass on to citizens almost daily in the midst of this crisis. Apparently his sincerity is recognized and also the fact that he is the one who has to find emergency solutions to a strong energy dependence on Russia that the Scholz government inherited from its predecessors.
The list of major culprits is headed by former Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who, months before he left power (in 2005), agreed with his friend and political ally Vladimir Putin to build the Nord Stream, to later serve on its boards of directors. of controlled companies. by the Kremlin. This spectacular example of revolving doors was followed by the 16 years in power of conservative Angela Merkel, who maintained and strengthened energy dependence.
The search for responsibilities among Scholz’s predecessors today occupies the commentaries and opinion columns inside and outside Germany. Habeck, meanwhile, is responsible for weathering the situation and, ostensibly, preparing Plan B in case Nord Stream shuts down the gas tap. At present, the deposits are more than 67.5% of their capacity. Habeck’s stated goal is to have them at 75% by early September and 95% by November 1. They managed to keep filling them, despite the supply interruption for ten days and the subsequent reduction, dictated by Moscow, based on the use of coal reserves. Another “bitter solution” for Scholz’s green partner. The current tripartite between Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals opened the post-Merkel legislature last December with the aim of accelerating the retirement of this fossil fuel. Suddenly, less evil, he is forced to turn the coal into a sort of emergency shelter.
The Greens of Habeck tentatively defend the calendar for the closure of the last three nuclear power plants by the end of this year 2022. The “Nein, Danke” for nuclear energy is the basic identity sign of German environmental consciousness. But few rule out that it does not ultimately extend the life of these latter plants. Even the most realistic or pragmatic sections of the Greens are beginning to be less categorical in their ‘Nein, Danke’. Everything can depend on the deposits being filled at the right rate.
Source: La Verdad
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