Hamburg’s Mayor Peter Tschentscher wants to help people with small and medium incomes in a targeted manner should further relief packages become necessary in the autumn due to rising energy prices. “Future aid must be more targeted to those who have not received any state aid and who already have to turn over every euro,” said the SPD politician. “We have to take care of this group so that people don’t get into difficulties due to high energy prices and heating costs that overwhelm them.”
The federal relief packages are co-financed by the states “and are very important,” said the mayor. High-income people could absorb the rise in inflation and energy prices. “For people on welfare, the increase in heating costs is fully covered by the state.”
At the same time, he appealed to people to take care of the burden themselves by saving energy. “Saving energy not only helps us to survive the lack of gas supply. It is also a financial advantage when you think about the next heating bill.”
Tschentscher did not want to rule out that state aid would be necessary again. “We may need help from the federal and state governments again in the fall.” However, these would then have to relate very specifically to the group of people he was describing.
On Thursday, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce also commented on the gas deliveries from Russia, which were again at a low level via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the direction of Germany. “With the restart of gas supplies via Nord Stream 1, we can breathe a sigh of relief in the short term. However, we have been – and are – being shown clearly how unreliable Russian gas supplies are. Hamburg’s economy needs energy security. Therefore, nationwide efforts must be stepped up to fill Germany’s gas storage facilities from other sources,” said Astrid Nissen-Schmidt, Vice President of the Chamber.
Nobody should freeze in their apartment in winter. “However, we must be aware that production in certain branches of industry that has been shut down due to a lack of gas cannot be restarted and may be irretrievably lost,” warned the business representative. Hamburg’s Senate is also asked to find and implement solutions for a sustainable energy supply for the location without one-sided dependency. “Hamburg’s economy is ready to reduce overall demand through energy saving measures,” says Nissen-Schmidt.
On Tuesday it became known that Hamburg should not initially become a location for a mobile LNG terminal – the Senate had aimed for this, although Economics Senator Michael Westhagemann expressed doubts about the speedy implementation and the security situation. The opposition saw the decision against Hamburg as a defeat for Tschentscher.
