As Russia halts gas supply to Europe, the German government has issued an “energy saving decree” (Energieeinsparverordnung) ordering businesses and private households to reduce power consumption. Going by the new regulations which came into effect on September 1, Germany is heading towards its darkest and coldest winter since the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973.
The new ordinance is a “set of binding measures to reduce energy consumption nationwide,” telling Germans to cut on heating, lighting, and other sources of energy consumption, German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported Saturday. These regulations will be in force for the entire winter, the German media notes.
Germany has been forced to order sweeping rationing of energy after Russia closed its key natural gas pipeline to Europe. “Russia indefinitely suspends Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe,” the London-based Financial Times reported Saturday.
German public broadcaster DW News reported a few of the new energy regulations:
Illuminated advertising must be switched off after 10p.m., with only a few exceptions. If advertisements serve traffic safety, they remain switched on, for example, at railroad underpasses. Street lamps also remain on, and store windows may continue to be illuminated.Monuments and other buildings may no longer be illuminated at night. At least not for purely aesthetic reasons. However, emergency lighting will not be switched off, and illumination is permitted for cultural events and public festivals.In public buildings, halls and corridors will generally no longer be heated, and the temperature in offices will be limited to a maximum of 19 degrees. In places where heavy physical work is performed, temperatures will be even lower in the future. However, the restrictions do not apply to social facilities such as hospitals, daycare centers, and schools, where higher air temperatures are essential for the “health of the people who spend time there,” according to the Economy Ministry.Cutting back on warm water. Likewise, in public buildings, instantaneous water heaters or hot water tanks should be switched off if they are mainly used for washing hands. Exceptions are made for medical facilities, schools, and daycare centers. Some cities go even further. There, the showers in swimming pools and sports halls will remain unheated.
These regulations are in addition to the measures taken by German cities to cut on public lighting, heating, as well as warm water for kindergartens and schools.
The move to switch off street lighting has lead to widespread fear among women who already apprehensive of being outside after dark. Amid surging illegal immigration, German has seen as rise in violent crimes against women.
In 2011, German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to quit nuclear energy, and run Europe’s biggest economy on solar and wind power. “Merkel, her allies say, is ready to lead Germany into an era in which wind and solar energy can replace nuclear plants,” The New York Times declared at that time.
Since these renewable energy sources were highly unreliably, Merkel’s government decided to plug the gap with Russian natural gas. Berlin invested billions in joint pipeline projects with Moscow, including the now-defunct 760-mile Nord Stream 2 pipeline that ran under the Baltic Sea.
German politicians and media scoffed at every criticism of their dealings with Russia. President Donald Trump was widely mocked in Germany for suggesting that the country was getting fatally dependent on the Kremlin for its energy requirement.
As Russia now shuts down the gas supply, President Trump’s words appear almost prophetic. The German weekly Der Spiegel notes: “Europeans, and Germans in particular, risk running out of gas in the winter if supplies through Nord Stream, the pipeline that delivers gas directly from Russia to Germany, don’t increase again.” With the remaining nuclear power plants going out of commission and no viable substitute to Russian gas, Germany faces a disaster of its own making
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