Greifswald (dpa/mv) – maximum speed for company cars, limited flextime in the winter months or reduced office hours – the Vorpommern-Greifswald district is examining savings measures due to a possible lack of energy. Smaller things are on the list, such as pulling plugs when leaving the office or switching off vending machines, but also closing buildings on a daily basis, District Administrator Michael Sack (CDU) said at a press conference in Greifswald on Friday.
The measures are currently being discussed with the staff council and, if the worst comes to the worst, will be implemented in stages and not all at once. The federal government has also decided that public buildings should generally only be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees from September. Until now, the recommended minimum temperature for offices was 20 degrees.
In the near future, the district will also publish a comprehensive survey of around 2,400 companies in preparation for a possible energy shortage. He wants to find out to what extent emergency plans are in place, how long companies could supply themselves with energy in an emergency and where, for example, fuel is stored. Not only companies of the so-called critical infrastructure such as water suppliers or hospitals would be addressed, but also bakers, for example, because their failure would also affect the population.
So far, disasters have tended to be local events such as accidents or fires, explained Dietger Wille from the district. This is different with a view to a possible energy shortage. Here, for example, it is not easy to replace external failures. There are forecasts according to which a gas shortage could “grow into a situation that would then be assessed as a catastrophe in this definition”. District Administrator Sack nevertheless warned against scaremongering. One prepares oneself, but in the best case the corresponding plans remain in the drawer.
