Especially in the next few days, some municipalities in the south-west will save money in view of the energy crisis. In some places, it is therefore not possible for people in Baden-Württemberg to go to the town hall.
Stuttgart (dpa/lsw) – Some citizens in Baden-Württemberg will be standing in front of closed doors at municipal facilities between Christmas and New Year and at the beginning of 2023. Reason: Municipalities want to save energy. With the help of the closures, the cities want to heat less, according to a survey by the German Press Agency.
As a special measure, the city of Karlsruhe is planning to close the administration from January 2nd to 5th. There are only exceptions in special, justified cases, according to the town hall. “By lowering the heating on a closed day, about 18 percent of the usual heat consumption on such a day is saved.” The administration is open in the week between Christmas and New Year.
Savings are also being made in Mannheim. According to its own statements, the city wants to save up to four percent of its annual energy consumption between December 23 and January 8. The room temperature is to be reduced to a minimum in 80 percent of all office space. Nevertheless, the city wants to offer all administrative services. “Where it is necessary, small office spaces are heated with optimized occupancy,” informed the administration.
Stuttgart refrains from general closures due to the energy crisis. The offices are free to close buildings or individual parts of buildings between Christmas and New Year. “The employees should then – if possible – work in the home office so that the buildings can be operated in reduced mode for this period,” said a spokeswoman for the city.
According to a city spokesman, a closure in many areas in Freiburg is not possible because emergency services must also be guaranteed between Christmas and New Year. However, the district libraries will remain closed from December 24th to January 8th, the spokesman said. In addition, measures already initiated will be continued. Among other things, the temperatures are regulated down. According to the city, it aims to save 20 percent of its energy in winter.
The city of Heidelberg wants to “largely” close the municipal administration building from December 24th to January 8th. According to the city, this will make a significant contribution to saving energy. “The majority of employees will work mobile, the presence of employees on site will be reduced to the minimum necessary in order to be able to reduce the room temperature to a minimum in individual buildings or parts of buildings and thus save additional heating energy.” However, the city wants to continue to offer all services for the citizens. The offices and departments can be reached by telephone and e-mail.
According to the information, the people of Tübingen will stand in front of closed doors at all city administration buildings from December 27th to 30th. “This makes it possible to shut down the heating for a total of nine days,” said a city spokeswoman. The Tübingen city library is also closed between Christmas and New Year – but this has nothing to do with energy saving measures. A day trip to a city museum is possible between Christmas and New Year, as the city hall informed.
In Ulm, people are spared from closures due to the energy crisis. According to a city hall spokeswoman, the motto for 2023 will be: “keep on as you are right now”. The main aim is to bring down the temperatures and switch off facade lighting.
