In preparation for a possible gas shortage, some federal states are already introducing the first savings measures in public buildings. The motto: Cool less in summer, heat less in winter.
The state governments and state parliaments, like the Bundestag, want to use energy more sparingly in the future. Many countries are currently considering heating rooms less in winter and turning down air conditioning in summer, according to a survey by the German Press Agency.
The state parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate is already making savings. The air conditioning only cools the building down to 24 degrees instead of 21 degrees, as a spokesman said. The Saarland state parliament, on the other hand, is only planning savings measures in winter: the temperature of the heating should then be reduced from 22 to 20 degrees, it said. In Baden-Württemberg, the Ministry of Finance is considering heating the offices of state employees to a maximum of 18 degrees in winter. The Council of Elders of the Bundestag decided on measures to save energy on Thursday.
Berlin’s Economics Senator Stephan Schwarz (independent) demanded that the public sector have to turn the energy regulator just like private households and companies. “Of course, the functionality of the authorities and occupational safety must be maintained, but otherwise I see no taboos,” he said.
