The high energy prices don’t just affect private consumers’ wallets. Even venerable institutions have to struggle with this, and the Bavarian universities are no exception. Nevertheless, a very specific group should definitely not suffer from the problem.
Munich (dpa/lby) – Due to the increased energy prices, the Bavarian universities are expecting additional costs in the high double-digit million range this year alone. The twelve universities in the Free State are expecting around 50 million euros in additional expenditure, as Alexander Fehr from the Bavarian University Conference told the German Press Agency. The 19 universities of applied sciences and technical universities cannot yet quantify the additional costs, but they also expect an energy price increase in the double-digit million range.
As countermeasures, among other things, the room temperatures would be reduced to up to 18 degrees, said the association “Hochschule Bayern” for the universities of applied sciences on request. In many places, the heaters in corridors and corridors should remain completely cold. “The aim is to reduce energy consumption by at least 15 percent.”
Both associations agree that seminars and lectures should not be cancelled. “The attitude of the Bavarian universities is that we are sticking to the attendance semester and not shaking it up,” emphasized Fehr. “We don’t want the students to be burdened again in a crisis and suffer disadvantages again. Many students have only seen the universities from the inside for a short time and have participated in teaching primarily digitally for two years.” In addition, the job of the universities also includes the personality development of young people, to which direct exchange and personal interaction make a significant contribution.
For smaller universities, the university conference, which also operates under the name “University of Bavaria”, expects additional costs for gas and electricity of five to eight million euros each in 2022. The large institutions such as the Ludwig Maximilian University or the Technical University in Munich may even have to shoulder an additional ten to twelve million euros. The universities are one of the largest users of space in Bavaria and are therefore particularly hard hit by the cost explosion.
According to their own statements, the universities of applied sciences cannot finance the additional costs from their regular budgets. “There are no appropriate resources here,” it said. Fehr also wishes for the universities: “We would like to have additional funds from the Free State, which is responsible for the universities, which compensate for this.” So far, the ministry has only said that a solution is being worked on for 2023.
Meanwhile, the Conference of Ministers of Education recently asked the federal government for support. “The energy crisis must not turn into an ice age for research and teaching,” emphasized Bavaria’s Science Minister Markus Blume (CSU). Universities, university hospitals, non-university research institutions and student unions are absolutely systemically relevant. “That’s why we need clarification from the federal government that the energy price brake also applies to these facilities and that they belong to the group of protected customers without exception.”
