In view of the impending gas crisis, politicians and associations are promoting energy saving. But to what extent are state and local authorities setting a good example?
Dresden/Leipzig/Chemnitz (dpa/sn) – The impending gas crisis is forcing the state and local authorities in Saxony to take a critical look at their energy consumption. But they are often still covered with concrete measures, as a survey by the German Press Agency has shown.
According to the Saxon Real Estate and Construction Management (SIB) alone, it manages 2,130 state-owned buildings. The state-owned company puts the energy consumption for this at around 700,000 megawatt hours per year. Municipalities are focusing on heating systems in schools, sports facilities, swimming pools and office buildings. But the lighting of monuments could also be restricted in the future.
10 to 20 percent of energy could be saved through user behavior alone, explained SIB Managing Director Oliver Gaber. This includes closing doors in offices during the heating period, leaving radiators uncovered and efficient forced ventilation. Further steps to save energy are currently being examined, such as reducing the flow temperature in heating systems. Air conditioning is only available in state-owned buildings where it is absolutely necessary, for example in server rooms. “Apart from very few exceptions, offices have no air conditioning,” emphasized Gaber.
The state government will make its contribution to saving energy, assured government spokesman Ralph Schreiber. All technical and organizational possibilities would be examined for this purpose. This also includes working from home. How the whole thing is implemented in concrete terms depends on the tasks of the respective authorities. “Police stations and prisons will have to be treated differently than traditional administrative authorities.” The state parliament is also looking for savings potential, for example in electricity consumption, heating and hot water. “Results on this are not expected until after the summer break,” said the parliamentary administration on request.
The city of Leipzig is pushing harder. Mayor Burkhard Jung (SPD) commissioned the Office for Building Management last week to draw up a detailed plan for savings within 14 days, according to the town hall. It is about room temperatures in schools, sports halls and cultural centers, the water temperature in indoor swimming pools, the energy consumption of the administration, but also about the nocturnal illumination of buildings such as the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Even if there is an increased gas shortage, the city administration considers the situation to be manageable. Because a large part of the district heating is still generated here with lignite.
In Dresden, a “Task Force Energy Saving” is to make preparations for a worsening gas crisis. By the end of August, she should present a corresponding catalogue. On the one hand, it is about savings in buildings during ongoing operations – for example that rooms are heated less, explained Mayor for the Environment Eva Jähnigen (Greens). In the event of a gas shortage, however, a sequence for the complete shutdown of municipal buildings should also be prepared. The city of Chemnitz did not want to be specific about energy saving. There are consultations internally, as well as with companies and associations, it was only said.
